DUKE  UNIVERSITY 


LIBRARY 


The  Glenn  Negley  Collection 
of  Utopian  Literature 


^^' 


J 


THE 

FALL   OF   UTOPIA 


BY 
CHARLES   J.    BAYNE. 

AUTHOR   OF 

"A  Truant  from  the  Rhone."  "Drones  and  Dreamers." 

"  Ruth  and  Her  Relations."  "  The  Water  Spirit's 

Bride."  "  The  Things  we  Might  Have  Said." 

"Trovato."      "  Perdita,   and   Other 

Poems."     "Gioia,"  Etc. 


BOSTON : 

EASTERN    PUBLISHING    COMPANY, 

6 1     COURT    STREET. 


Copyrighted  1900 

By 

CHARLES  J.  BAYNE. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


«<» 


'  Kingdoms  and  empires  in  my  little  day 
I  have  outlived,  and  yet  I  am  not  old." 


-Byron. 


"  Lk,  il  vizio,  la  dissolutezza,  I'ingiustizia,  la 
rapina,  la  frode,  Bono  onorate,  ricompensate  dal 
potere  supremo  ....  Lh,,  il  traditore  della  patria 
diviene  il  piu  potente  cittadino  dello  Stato.  Lk, 
colui  non  fe  oppressore,  ^  oppresso." — Gaetano 
FiLANGiERi,  Scienza  della  Legislazione. 

ifk  ■»^i  tlm 

"L'opulence  d'une  cit^  de  commerce  s'est  clian- 
g6e  en  une  pauvretd  hideuse  ...  et  les  reptiles 
immondes  habitent  le  sanctuaire  des  dieux  .... 
Ainsi  done  p^rissent  les  ouvrages  des  liommes; 
ainsi  s'^vanouissent  les  empires  et  les  nations." 
— YoLNEY,  Les  Euines. 


'^'(^' 


The  Fall  of  Utopia, 


Chapter  I. 


AM  a  Moor.  My  birth,  which 
occured  by  an  interesting 
succession  of  events  deemed 
worthy  to  be  recorded,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Granada, 
was  of  humble  parents.  That  is,  they 
were  poor  and  inconspicuous;  and  yet, 
if  service  to  the  great  may  be  accounted 
ennobling,  my  lineage  is  not  to  be  despised. 
When  Amina,  the  mother  of  Mahomet, 
had  become  unable  to  nurse  her  divine 
offspring,  and  for  months  had  vainly  sought 
among  the  sordid  Bedouins  for  a  foster 
mother  for  her  lowly-born  child,  Harlema, 
the  wife  of  a  good  Saadite  shepherd  who 
lived  in  the  pleasant  mountains  nearTayef, 
9 


lO  THE   FALL   OF   UTOPIA. 

took  the  infant  prophet  from  the  unwholesome 
airs  of  Mecca  and  carried  him  to  her  own 
delightful  home,  where,  until  the  third  year 
of  his  age,  he  was  reared  with  all  a  mother's 
tender  care.  Harlema  had  one  son,  Amroud, 
the  boyhood  companion  of  the  Apostle  of 
Allah,  a  youth  of  most  excellent  qualities ; 
and  to  him  my  worthy  father  was  able  to 
trace  an  uninterrupted  lineage. 

In  the  early  decades  of  the  Hegira, 
while  the  IsmaiHs  sect  was  alluring  so  many 
of  the  Faithful  by  its  mystic  promises,  and, 
by  its  gradual  domination  over  the  mind  and 
judgment,  bringing  so  many  to  the  tacit 
renunciation  of  Allah  and  his  Prophet,  Abdul 
Hassan,  then  in  the  enquiring  and  adven- 
turous stage  of  youth,  presented  himself  one 
day  to  the  dai  and  expressed  his  desire  to 
become  a  neophyte.  Truth  to  say,  there  was 
in  his  mind  more  of  curiosity  than  of  devo- 
tion, but  Abdul  Hassan  could  dissemble  well. 

Being  taken  under  instruction,  he  pre- 
tended to  repose  implicit  confidence  in  all 
the  dai*  said,  by  which  the  safety  of  admit- 
ting an  applicant  into  the  secrets  of  the  sect 
is  judged,    and    often  would    he    break  out 


THE    FALL   OF    UTOPIA.  II 

in  the    most   fervent   praises  of   the    imam. 

Satisfied  with  his  evident  sincerity,  the 
dai  proceeded  to  admit  him  successively, 
with  all  the  accustomed  oaths  and  securities, 
into  each  of  the  nine  degrees,  and  he  was 
finally  confirmed  a  convert  of  Ismailis. 

Soon,  however,  Abdul  Hassan  wearied 
of  his  new  religion.  Surfeited  curiosity 
became  disgust.  Deluded  and  imposed  upon 
by  such  hollow  mockery,  he  determined  to 
reveal  the  mysteries  he  had  sworn  to  keep. 
A  simple  renunciation  was  not  sufficient  for 
his  resentful  mind.  He  would  expose  the 
deception,  in  spite  of  ban  or  menace,  and  give 
Ismailis  a  fatal  sting. 

The  consequences  were  such  as  might 
naturally  be  expected.  Never  before  had 
such  treachery  and  sacrilege  been  known. 
The  Prophet  and  the  Silent  One  would  be  no 
longer  venerable,  and  proselytes'  gold  would 
cease  to  flow  into  their  common  coffers. 
Actuated,  therefore,  by  various  incentives, 
the  infuriated  schismatics  pursued  Abdul 
Hassan  with  restless  zeal. 

There  could  be  no  safety  but  in  flight, 
and  soon  the  Exposer  of  the  Mysteries  had 


12  THE   FALL   OF   UTOPIA. 

left  the  tamarinds  and  acacias  of  Araby  the 
Blest  far  behind  him  forever. 

I  will  not  dwell  upon  his  sorrow  at 
leaving  the  land  of  his  nativity,  nor  the  fre- 
quent earnest  longings  of  the  pilgrim's  heart 
for  its  receding  plains.  These  he  had,  let 
none  deny,  but  what  tongue  can  translate 
the  idioms  of  the  heart  ? 

It  was  during  the  Feast  of  Roses,  when 
the  focusing  grace  and  beauty  of  all  the 
entrancing  year  wove  a  chaplet  of  joy  with 
which  to  crown  the  smiling  Summer,  that 
the  hard-pressed  but  unbroken  fugitive 
arrived  in  the  delightful  Valley  of  Cashmere. 

His  anxious  and  distrustful  heart  was  at 
first  but  little  moved  by  the  unequalled 
beauty  of  this  luxuriant  land.  Misgivings 
were  in  his  mind,  whose  power  the  conscious 
righteousness  of  his  betrayal  could  not  quiet. 
Soon,  however,  were  calmed  the  exile's  long- 
ing and  the  fugitive's  fears.  A  wonderful 
peace  possessed  his  soul. 

One  evening,  attracted  by  the  entranc- 
ing music  that  came  softly  stealing  through 
the  perfumed  groves  where  bright  fountains 
flashed  in  the  mellow  moon-light,  he  ventured 


THE   FALL   OF    UTOPIA.  13 

forth  to  witness  the  scene  of  merriment  which 
was  evidently  in  progress.  True  his  soul 
was  at  peace,  yet  his  flight  from  home  and 
country,  and  the  various  misfortunes  atten- 
dant thereupon  had  left  a  melancholy  soft- 
ness in  his  breast.  Warm-hearted  and  sus- 
ceptible in  his  nature,  the  feelings  awakened 
by  the  magnificent  scene  before  him 
amounted  to  an  infatuation. 

Lutes  and  tabors  in  the  slender,  jewelled 
hands  of  dancing  damsels  who  lightly  trod 
their  own  exquisite  measures  seemed  to 
lend  unwonted  liveliness  to  the  sparkling, 
leaping  waters.  The  richest  gems  flashed 
from  shapely  throats  and  costly  girdles  ; 
anklets  and  bracelets  of  finest  gold  encircled 
limbs  of  the  most  perfect  mould,  while  all 
the  oils  and  spices  of  the  East  seemed  con- 
centrated in  this  perfumed  dream. 

Abdul  Hassan  looked  on  amazed.  All 
thought  of  his  late  disasters  fled.  Touched 
by  the  captivating  beauty  of  the  airy  dancers, 
with  whom  the  Houris  themselves  could  not 
compare,  and  by  the  seductive  melody  which 
stole  through  the  moonlit  bower  of  roses 
that  nodded  in  the  fragrant    air,  his  bosom 


14  THE   FALL    OF    UTOPIA. 

swelled  frequently  and  deeply.  A  vague, 
unconscious  spirit  of  lov^  for  the  fair  Cash- 
merians  took  possession  of  his  heart. 

Among  the  dancers  was  one,  a  damsel 
of  uncommon  beauty,  who,  above  all  others, 
engaged  his  eager  gaze.  No  step  was  so 
light,  no  song  so  sweet,  as  hers.  The  golden 
ornament  on  her  white  brow  was  set  with 
rarest  gems  that  gleamed  in  the  moonlight 
like  the  stars  in  Orion's  Belt.  Transported, 
infatuated,  beyond  degree  by  the  lovely  crea- 
ture, his  eyes  at  last  could  scarcely  turn  from 
her  smiling  lips  and  glowing  cheeks,  her  rav- 
ishing form  and  supple  step. 

As  moment  after  moment  he  gazed  he 
felt  that  his  heart  was  melting  away  —  yes, 
that  a  frantic  love  for  her  possessed  his  soul, 
until,  when  the  soft,  amethystine  streaks  of 
approaching  day  sent  the  revellers  to  their 
bowery  homes,  he  followed,  with  impatient 
heart,  the  lovely  damsel  to  the  place  of  her 
abode. 


"m 


Chapter  II. 

^MONG  the  few  remaining  Magi, 
whose  priesthood,  once  domi- 
nating the  very  throne  itself, 
was  now  swiftly  passing  away, 
there  lived  one,  in  the  Valley 
Cashmere,  who  possessed  a 
daughter  of  surpassing  beauty.  So 
fair  was  she  that  none  could  gaze  unmoved 
upon  her  heavenly  form.  There  was  light 
in  her  eye  and  grace  and  beauty  in  her  step, 
and  throughout  all  the  country  she  was 
accounted  the  fairest. 

The  worthy  King  of  Iran  was  a  man 
whose  discernment  and  esteem  of  excellent 
mental  qualities  had  not  been  warped  by 
bigotry  or  creeds,  and  at  his  court  the  learned 
Magian  was  frequently  seen.  Indeed,  so 
great  was  the  royal  estimation  of  the  Gheber 
priest  that  the  King  rarely  ventured  any 
momentous  action  without  first  consulting 
his  erudite  friend. 

The    Magian's  charming  daughter  thus 
15 


1 6  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

became  a  familiar  sight  at  court,  where 
the  full  deference  due,  both  to  the  daughter 
of  so  wise  a  man,  and  to  the  possessor  of  such 
unequalled  charms,  was  willingly  paid  on 
every  hand. 

Among  the  votaries  of  this  favored  dam- 
sel none  were  more  ardent  in  their  tributes 
than  the  handsome  foster  son  of  the  King, 
Prince  Selim  Azhurni.     He  was  a  youth  of 
manly  stature,  dark,  piercing  eyes,  and  reso- 
lute,  impressive   features.     Aside  from  his 
perfect  figure  and  noble  carriage,  the  Prince 
was  noted  for  uncommon    genius    in   poetry 
and  music,  a  wonderful  familiarity  with  the 
sciences,  including  some  of  the  dark  cabalas 
of    Egypt,  and    an    affability    and    pleasant- 
ness seldom  found  in  one  of  his  rank  and  age. 
Yet  was  the  passion  of  Prince  Azhurni 
but  smally  rewarded    by    the  smiles  of  the 
Magian's  daughter.     Graceful  and  attractive 
he  was,  to  be  sure,  yet  who   can  account  for 
the  caprices  of  a  female  heart  ?     Neither  had 
the  glitter  and  magnificence  of  a  kingly  court 
been    able   to   touch    her    unimpressionable 
breast,  so  the  captivated  Prince  sighed  in  vain. 
Abdul  Hassan,  having  found  the  abode 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I  7 

of  the  object  of  his  passion,  had  not  nursed 
the  flame  in  profitless  inaction.  In  the 
simple  quarters  which,  by  the  laws  of  his 
office,  the  Magian  was  forced  to  occupy,  the 
manly  figure  of  the  fugitive  ere  long  became 
no  unfamiliar  sight.  The  diligence  of  love 
had  been  rewarded,  and,  by  the  dexterous 
insinuations  which  love  alone  can  dictate,  he 
had  managed  to  introduce  himself  by  night 
into  the  presence  of  the  maiden.  Being 
received  with  no  unwillingness,  he  continued 
his  nocturnal  visits,  in  the  absence  of  the 
Magian,  until  the  maiden's  toleration  finally 
ripened  into  love  quite  as  ardent  as  his  own. 
At  night  while  the  bulbul  sang  to  the  sleep- 
ing rose,  their  fingers  would  alternately  touch 
the  love-tuned  lute,  and  their  soft-mingling 
voices,  melting  their  passionate  hearts  into 
sweet  accord,  would  rise  through  the  myrtles 
until  the  coming  of  the  Magian. 

Meantime  the  obstinate  little  Cashmer- 
ian  became  more  and  more  intolerant  of  the 
attentions  of  the  Prince,  and  if  she  was  not 
wanting  in  the  demonstrations  of  her  dis- 
pleasure, neither  was  the  unfortunate  lover 
capable  of  dissembling  the  anguish  which  her 


l8  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

uncompromising  coldness  engendered,  and 
this  melancholy  moping  became  the  subject 
of  conjecture  throughout  the  realm. 

"Why,  O  gentle  daughter  of  the 
Magian  !  "  said  the  Prince  one  day,  as  the 
damsel  passed  through  a  hall  of  the  palace, 
"why!  O  fairest  of  women,  wilt  thou  not 
smile  upon  me  ?  Is  thy  heart,  indeed,  of 
stone  ?  See !  we  shall  have  dominion  and 
wealth,  and  the  earth  will  not  be  able  to  con- 
tain my  love  for  thee.  Upon  thy  chiselled 
arm  — "  Here  the  Prince  drew  forth  a 
bracelet  of  finest  gold,  glittering  brightly 
with  diamonds,  rubies,  emeralds  and  pearls, 
set  with  such  combination  of  their  colors  as 
to  produce  a  most  remarkable  effect,  and  half 
clasped  it  around  her  tapering  arm. 

Taking  it  quickly  from  her  wrist,  ,she 
seemed  at  first  about  to  throw  it  into  the 
fountain  playing  in  the  hall,  but  turned  and 
respectfully  gave  it  to  the  Prince  again,  say- 
ing, with  mingled  scorn  and  deference  : 

"  Though  thou  wert  *Cashna  himself, 
and  heir  to  a  kingdom  mightier  than  that  of 


*An  Indian  god   of  perfect  beauty,  especially  idolized    by     the 
women. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 


19 


fKai  Khusru,  he  whom  I   love  would  not  be 
forsaken,  O  Prince,  for  thee  !  " 

When  the  news  of  her  petted  son's  inef- 
fectual efforts  to  win  the  heart  of  the 
Magian's  daughter  finally  reached  the  ears  of 
the  Queen,  she,  desiring  to  behold  what 
supernatural  graces  characterized  the  man 
who  had  been  preferred  to  a  prince  of  the 
blood,  immediately  commanded  that  Abdul 
Hassan  be  brought  before  her. 

Scarcely  had  the  graceful  young  Arab 
crossed  the  threshold  and  paused  before  the 
Queen,  when  her  eyes  alighted  upon  an 
amethyst  signet  on  his  hand. 

Trembling  and  agitated  at  the  sight,  the 
royal  mother  could  scarcely  maintain  posses- 
sion of  her  senses.  Her  cheeks  grew  pale 
and  her  whole  frame  gave  evidence  of  a  most 
disconcerted  mind.  The  well  trained  Ethi- 
opians about  her  knew  not  what  to  do. 
Finally  she  recovered  sufficiently  to  say  : 

"At  last  he  comes  of  whom  the  sorcerer 
foretold  !     It  is  he  !  " 

Then,  after  a  pause  which  somewhat 
calmed    her  deep   emotion,    she  continued  : 

fPorsian  form  of  Cyrus. 


20  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

"  Son  of  the  Faithful,  thou  hast  come  to 
a  distant  land  to  hear  strange  tidings  of  thy 
self.  For  thy  coming  I  have  watched  like 
Iran  for  her  *Great  King.  Leave  me  now; 
but,  when  the  evening  moon  climbs  over  the 
mountains,  see  that  thou  returnest,  and  thy 
mind,  which,  I  perceive,  stirs  with  wonder, 
shall  not  go  unsatisfied." 

Conjecturing  and  bewildered,  Abdul 
Hassan  retired  ;  but  at  the  appointed  hour 
he  returned  to  hear  what  the  Queen  might 
have  to  say. 

♦Cyrus,  according  to  the  Persian  poets,  having  grown  old  disap- 
peared one  day  from  the  banks  of  a  pleasant  stream.  His  return,  with 
increased  magnificence,  was  religiously  expected. 


Chapter  III. 
¥   W 

THE   queen's    story. 

N  that  region  of  Araby  the 
Blest,  loved  and  sought  by  all 
for  the  luxuriousness  of  its 
vegetation  and  the  deliciousness 
|V^'of  its  climate,  lies  the  kingdom  of 
Yeman.  The  sparkling  waters  musi- 
cally trickle  down  the  hillsides  of  green,  and 
the  refreshing  winds  from  the  southern  sea 
are  unceasing.  Even  the  renowned  Hama- 
den  could  have  been  no  more  delightful,  and 
the  damsels  of  the  kingdom  were  of  the  fairest. 
"  It  was  there  I  was  born  and  reared  dur- 
ing the  happy  reign  of  one  of  its  wisest 
kings.  My  father  had  grown  rich  in  the 
trade  of  frankincense,  and  doubly  blest  with 
his  kind  indulgences  and  the  enjoyment  of 
such  a  land,  I  grew  up  as  happy  and  as  free 
as  the  antelopes  that  drank  from  the  crystal 
fountains  of  this  favored  spot. 

"  Until   my  seventeenth   year  no  inci- 

21 


22  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

dent  occurred  which  I  deem  worthy  to  relate. 
My  devotions  were  punctually  performed,  and 
the  fast  of  the  month  of  Ramadan  I  observed 
like  a  true  daughter  of  the  Faithful.  These, 
with  my  domestic  duties  and  some  simple 
diversions,  occupied  the  tearless  hours  of  my 
time. 

"  One  day,  however,  at  about  the  age  I 
have  mentioned,  as  I  walked  forth  from  my 
father's  tent  —  for  it  was  the  torrid  month 
of  Reby,  and  we  were  tenting  without  the 
city  —  I  met  a  youth  of  surpassing  grace 
and  most  pleasing  countenance  —  a  stranger 
in  the  kingdom  of  Yeman.  He  was  the  pos- 
sessor of  a  mighty  caravan,  consisting  of  half 
a  thousand  camels  and  a  hundred  of  those 
sure-footed  steeds  of  Neged,  which  traveled 
from  place  to  place,  but  most  frequently 
were  engaged  in  transporting  precious  stones 
and  other  costly  merchandise  of  Africa, 
across  the  deserts  to  Katif,  that  wonderful 
city  built  of  salt,  in  the  province  of  Bahrein. 

"  Until  then  my  inexperienced  heart  bad 
remained  unmoved,  but  no  sooner  did  I 
behold  his  noble  form  and  enrapturing  smile 
than  all  the  fountains   of   my   heart  broke 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  2% 

loose  in  a  transport  of  the  tenderest  love. 
He,  too,  seemed  affected  ;  and,  to  my  infinite 
joy,  approached  and  spoke  to  me.  Fairer  he 
seemed  than  the  great  *Abdallah,  on  the 
night  of  whose  nuptials  two  hundred  jealous 
maidens  expired  in  despair.  The  modula- 
tions of  his  voice  were  in  keeping  with  his 
looks  —  tender  and  gentle.  Soon  this  affable 
son  of  the  ancient  tribe  of  the  Ayhurites  be- 
came the  continual  companion  of  my  happy 
days.  Ah  !  to  gaze  into  his  eyes  was  like  a 
draught  from  Al  fCauther.  The  streams 
danced  more  brightly,  the  flowers  bloomed 
more  sweetly  and  the  winds  blew  more  softly, 
than  ever  before  ;  and  all  touched  the  sweet 
harmony  of  love. 

♦*  Thus  the  golden  days  went  by.  But 
finally  a  cloud  came  to  over-spread  our  fair 
horizon.  All  the  evil  Dives  seemed  to  have 
conspired  against  the  celebration  of  our  nup- 
tials. The  appointment  of  a  day  for  their  final 
consummation  was  sure  to  be  attended  by 
some  deep  calamity,  various  obstacles  would 
invariably  arise  to  prevent  the  celebration. 

♦Father  of  Mahomet. 

jA  stream  of  the  Mahometan  Paradise, 


24  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

**  Upon  one  occasion  there  was  to  be  a 
feast  and  day  of  rejoicing  in  the  kingdom  of 
Yeman,  for  a  poet  of  decided  talents  who 
would  henceforth  immortalize  the  tribe,  had 
made  his  appearance  there.  It  was  agreed 
that  the  concluding  festivities  should  be  fol- 
lowed, while  rejoicing  damsels,  with  their 
tymbals  and  tabors,  yet  remained,  by  the  cele- 
bration of  our  long-deferred  nuptials. 

"Scarcely  had  we  begun,  however,  to 
prepare  for  this  final  feature  as  the  banquet 
drew  to  a  close,  when,  as  if  seized  by  some 
awful  spell,  the  multitude  was  suddenly 
attacked  with  madness.  They  ran  frenziedly 
away,  and  became  incurable  maniacs. 

"  Alarmed  beyond  expression  by  this 
extraordinary  occurence  and  crowning  disap- 
pointment, it  was  determined  that  I  should 
seek  a  certain  wise  Egyptian,  deeply  skilled  in 
sorcery,  astrology  and  the  occult  arts,  with 
whom  I  chanced  to  be  acquainted,  and  beg  an 
elucidation  of  these  remarkable  demonstra- 
tions, or  learn,  at  least,  whether  our  hopes 
were  destined  to  be  fulfilled. 

"  A  cave,  secluded  among  the  neighbor- 
ing hills,  to  which,  as  a  child,  I  had  often 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  25 

wandered,  led  down  into  labyrinthine  excava- 
tions from  which  no  human  being  could 
escape,  if  unfamiliar  with  its  windings,  and  it 
was  here  the  dark  Egyptian  spent  his  days. 
From  the  profound  depths  of  his  weird 
retreat  a  circular  shaft  communicated  with 
the  surface  above,  and  from  within  its  ebony 
walls  the  sage  astrologer  could  perceive  the 
wheeling  stars  at  the  height  of  noon. 

**  I  shall  not  pause  to  describe  his  lonely 
cell,  where  mystic  scrolls,  smoked  crucibles, 
and  all  the  instruments  of  the  alchemist's  art 
lay  around  in  wild  confusion.  When  ac- 
quainted with  my  mission,  he  turned  and 
called  a  raven,  perching  nearby  with  his  head 
beneath  his  wing,  and  having  around  his  neck 
of  night  a  row  of  bells,  alternately  gold  and 
silver.  Whispering  a  few  mysterious  words 
into  the  bird's  ear,  he  held  him  up  that  he 
might  fly  to  the  upper  world.  Then  the 
Egyptian  began  preparing  a  tiny  caldron,  fill- 
ing it  with  a  number  of  peculiar  liquids,  and 
building  beneath  it  a  naphtha  fire. 

"  The  raven  returned,  bearing  in  his 
beak  three  petals,  resembling  those  of  the 
tulip,  and  these  the  Egyptian  placed  in  the 


26  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

boiling  liquid.  For  several  minutes  he  stirred 
the  mixture  with  three  arrows  without  heads 
or  feathers,  used  in  divination,  repeating 
wild  incantations,  and  then  he  drew  forth  the 
dripping  petals. 

"Certain  characters,  unintelligible  except 
to  himself,  appeared  upon  their  surface,  and 
these  he  studied  attentively  for  a  few 
moments.  He  then  retreated  to  the  foot  of 
the  shaft,  and,  after  observing  the  constella- 
tions for  a  short  while,  returned,  and  slowly 
answered  : 

"  'Not  thee,  but  thine.'' 

"This  I  readily  understood  to  mean  the 
hopelessness  of  our  ill-starred  love  which 
could  only  be  partially  mollified  by  the 
vaguely  promised  union  of  our  posterity. 
Ah  !  it  pierced  like  a  yataghan  to  my  loving 
heart,  and  I  hastened  to  relate  to  my  dear 
companion  the  words  of  the  dark  oracle. 

"  Allah  acbar ! "  exclaimed  he,  and 
turned  away.  In  a  few  days  he  returned, 
bringing  with  him  two  signets,  of  which  the 
one  had  been  so  skillfully  cut  from  the  other 
that  when  united  they  were  as  a  solid  stone, 
so  perfect  was  the  union.     Upon   my  hand 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  27 

he  placed  the  one  cut  in  relief,  charging  me 
to  bestow  it  upon  the  daughter  with  whom 
Allah  should  bless  me,  as  foreshadowed  by  the 
dark  Egyptian.  The  companion,  from  which 
it  had  been  cut,  he  retained,  intending,  he 
said,  to  place  it  upon  the  hand  of  him  whom 
heaven  should  send  as  a  son. 

"  Immediately  he  left  me  and  departed 
from  the  kingdom  of  Yeman.  Thenceforward 
I  neither  saw  nor  heard  of  him  more  ;  though 
many  of  the  *taikhs  of  Arabia  mention  a 
youth,  one  of  two  brothers,  bearing  his  name 
who  participated  in  founding  the  recent 
City  of  fVictory  upon  the  banks  of  the  Nile. 

"  Soon  the  pangs  of  retrospection  drove 
me  from  my  once  delightful  home,  and  the 
happy  days  of  my  love,  a  blooming  JTayef  in 
the  desert  of  my  life,  became  the  source  of 
grief  too  deep  to  permit  delay  among  the 
blasted,  desecrated  scenes.  Accordingly  my 
father  took  me,  and  journeying  for  several 
months  we  finally  arrived  here  in  the  king- 
dom of  Iran. 

'*  Among  the  many   suitors  who  flocked 

♦Chroniclers.  f  Cairo. 

JA  region   so  peculiarly   fertile  that  it  was  fabled  to  have  been 
washed  from  Syria  during  the  deluge. 


28  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

around  me,  after  the  first  transports  of  jny 
grief  had  subsided,  was  the  Magian,  whom 
thou  knowest.  Unstricken  then  with  years, 
of  exquisite  tastes  and  remarkable  cultivation, 
he  was  at  that  time  a  man  of  great  attractive- 
ness, and  I  finally  yielded  to  his  importuni- 
ties, and  unsanctified  relations  sprang  up 
between  us. 

**  The  offspring  of  this  unbonded  union 
was  Zarinah  —  she  whom  thou  lovest  !  Yet 
so  secret  had  been  my  indiscretions  that  when 
my  present  lord,  the  King,  one  day  beheld 
me  walking  forth  near  his  palace,  struck  with 
my  grace  and  beauty,  he  delayed  not  to  raise 
me  to  his  throne,  where  in  unrestricted  favor, 
I  have  ever  since  remained. 

"  Hesitating  in  my  unwillingness  to  see 
wedded  the  charming  but  dishonored  off- 
spring of  error  to  the  son  of  him  I  had  so 
tenderly  loved,  should  he  come,  as  the  oracle 
foretold,  I  have  witheld  from  her  the  signet. 
Here  it  is.  See  !  There  can  be  no  mistake, 
for  never  was  a  more  perfect  fit." 

In  a  short  time  the  astounded  Abdul 
Hassan  departed  with  the  signets,  and  at 
night  stole  to  his  trysting  bower  with  Zarinah. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  29 

The  blemish  of  her  birth  had  by  no  means 
altered  his  passion  ;  but  his  tranquil  happi- 
ness was  soon  to  be  destroyed.  The  jealous 
Magian,  discovering  the  passion  of  his  idolized 
daughter,  whom  he  had  hoped  to  hold  as  the 
comfort  of  his  declining  years,  determined  to 
rid  himself  of  Abdul  Hassan  ;  so  the  lovine: 
couple,  growing  apprehensive,  stealthily  fled 
one  night,  and  tarried  not  until  safe  upon  the 
shores  of  Barbary. 

The  distressed  old  man,  who  had  former- 
ly divided  his  time  between  the  two  places, 
now  abandoned  the  Valley  of  Cashmere  and 
took  up  his  abode  in  the  royal  palace. 

On  the  African  shore  the  fugitive  pair 
resided  in  peace  and  happiness  until  their 
tardy  death.  The  discovery  of  a  vast  treas- 
ure of  gold  and  jewels  by  one  of  their  des- 
cendants, among  the  ruins  of  a  palace  of 
Tripoli,  which  the  eccentric  Cahina,  Queen 
of  the  Berbers,  had  caused  to  be  destroyed 
that  it  might  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
conquering  Abdallah,  had  rendered  the  line 
of  Abdul  Hassan  immensely  wealthy.  This 
wealth  they  enjoyed  in  delicious  inactivity  un- 
til, joining  arms  with  the  invincible  Tarikin 


30  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

his  victorious  sweep  to  the  Region  of  the  Even- 
ing,* those  whose  bodies  were  not  stretched 
between  Gibraltar  and  the  Bay,  finally  settled, 
with  the  Faithful  from  Irak,  in  the  city  and 
vicinity  of  imperial  Grenada. 


♦Arabic    Handalusia,    formerly    applied  to  whole  peninsula  of 
Spain. 


/*? 


Chapter  IV. 

OVE  shall  chant  requiems  over 
''\.  the  grave -stone  of  eternity. 
^^  From  the  beginning  it  has 
4  been  ;  to  the  end  it  shall  be. 
The  towers  of  its  citadel 
gleam  afar  like  the  sacred  Dome 
?^i  ''  of  the  =^Rock.  Beautifier  of  sterility, 
ennobling  principle  of  life,  exhaustless  as  the 
fonts  of  f  Osset  !  Swelling  like  the  tides  of 
JHarpi  Mu,  it  inundates  creation.  The  loaded 
treasury  of  Suleyman  the  Wise  could  con- 
tain no  gem  so  rich  as  the  petrified  throb  of 
a  loving  heart. 

How  sacred  to  me  have  become  the 
Vega's  flowery  sweeps,  where  the  Xenil  and 
the  Darro  thread  a  wilderness  of  sweets,  and 
gently  whisper  to  the  fig-tree  and  the  vine  as 
they  nod  in  the  cooling  breezes  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada !  Its  departed  days  have  become 
pilgrim-shrines  to  my  vagrant  memory.  Its 
borders  are  my  ultimate  bounds. 

*Mosque  of  Omar,  Jerusalem.  tMiraculously  replenished  yearly. 

JSpirit  of  the  Nile.  31 


32  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

But  perhaps  you  remember  that  Boabdil 
fell  ;  let  me  pause  to  explain.  One  day, 
when  as  yet  the  thankful  Te  Deum  of  vic- 
torious Ferdinand  had  scarcely  died  away, 
and  the  rocky  Alpuxarras  still  harbored  scores 
of  fugitive  Moors,  resentful  and  depredatious 
for  the  loss  of  their  kingdom,  the  intrepid 
Isabella  rode  forth  with  only  a  few  female 
attendants,  and  was  rapidly  but  unwittingly 
making  toward  the  rendezvous  of  one  of  the 
fiercest  of  these  bands.  My  father's  mother, 
seeing  the  imminent  danger  to  which  the 
Queen  exposed  herself,  and  more  sensible  to 
the  appeals  of  sex  than  to  the  spirit  of  retalia- 
tion, hastened  to  apprise  her  of  her  peril. 
The  grateful  Isabella  was  profuse  in  her  dem- 
onstrations of  gratitude,  and  pressed  my 
grandmother  to  remain,  with  her  family  and 
intimate  friends,  in  the  pleasant  valley  of  her 
childhood.  It  is  here  I  was  born  —  here 
loved  and  sorrowed. 

Among  the  number  of  this  favored  resi- 
due, there  was  a  damsel  of  ravishing  beauty 
who  bore  the  name  of  Saffana,  the  Pearl. 
For  her  I  had  conceived,  even  in  my  earliest 
years,  the  most  ardent  and  unbounded  love. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  33 


Beautiful  as  day,  a  paragon  of  grace  and 
loveliness,  she  had  long  held  my  heart  a  wil- 
ling captive.  Nor  did  she  regard  me  with 
indifference.  Along  the  silvery  windings  of 
the  Darro,  or  up  the  green,  refreshing  knolls, 
we  would  often  slowly  wander,  overflowingly 
transported  by  the  sweet  infatuation  of 
mutual  love;  or  else,  seated  beneath  some 
nodding  bower  whose  boughs  sang  dreamy 
songs  of  perfect  peace,  would  read  to  each 
other  from  the  poets  of  Arabia. 

But  this  delicious  dream  suddenly  had  a 
lamentable  end.  One  day  as  wc  sat  together 
upon  the  verdant  banks  of  the  Xenil,  to 
which  our  unconscious  steps  had  wandered,  a 
silken  scarf,  upon  which  she  embroidered  our 
intertwined  names  in  the  design  of  myrtle 
leaves,  suddenly  fell  from  her  hands  into  the 
waters  below.  The  current  at  this  point  be- 
ing extremely  swift,  in  an  instant  had  carried 
it  far  down  the  stream,  and  I  hastened  after 
it  with  all  speed.  With  great  difficulty  I 
finally  secured  it  and  returned  in  time  to  see 
a  bold  Spanish  cavalier,  mounted  upon  a  fleet 
and  gaily  caparisoned  courser,  seize  my  wor- 
shipped Saffana  in  his  arms  and  dart  away  be- 


34  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

yond  the  Sierras  !  My  anguish  was  indescrib- 
able. Having  no  means  of  pursuit  at  hand,  I 
was  unable  to  follow  the  abductor,  and  was 
compelled  to  submit  passively  to  my  loss. 

The  years  stole  by,  but  my  sorrow  and 
devotion  remained  undiminished.  I  became 
a  prey  to  the  most  morbid  melancholy.  life 
was  a  sunless  day,  a  starless  night.  But 
an  incident  finally  occured  which  altered  my 
sad  routine. 

Among  the  many  architectural  wonders 
in  the  city  and  vicinity  of  Granada,  in  the 
construction  of  which  art  and  science  seemed 
exhausted,  there  was  none  of  such  grandeur 
as  that  of  the  Palace  of  the  Zodiac.  So  stu- 
pendous was  its  plan,  so  perfect  its  execu- 
cution,  and  so  bewildering  its  general  mag- 
nificence that  there  were  those  who  claimed 
it  to  have  been  constructed,  like  Alhambra, 
by  the  aid  of  pov/erful  genii.  Twelve  stately 
chambers,  each  having  in  its  burnished  ceil- 
ing one  of  the  signs  of  the  zodiac,  set  in 
stones  of  inestimable  value,  radiated  from  a 
hall,  the  crowning  glory  of  the  palace,  which 
was  known  as  the  "Hall  of  Celestial  Dreams." 

The    Islam    interdiction  of  portraiture, 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  35 

which  required  rash  painters  to  furnish  souls 
for  their  images  when  they  should  reach  the 
other  world,  had  but  rendered  the  permis- 
sable  decorations  the  more  magnificent ;  and 
fretwork,  tapestry,  mosaic  and  arabesque 
seemed  to  breathe  a  perpetual  harmony. 
Aside  from  the  constellations  which  glittered 
from  the  ceilings  of  the  chambers,  the  pol- 
ished walls  of  variegated  marble,  worked  into 
contrasts  most  agreeable  to  the  eye,  and 
tesselated  floors  whose  tiny  squares  com- 
bined to  represent  sparkling  streams  flowing 
through  luxuriant  gardens,  so  dazzled  the 
eye  and  bewildered  the  mind  that  no  one  has 
ever  yet  been  able  to  describe  them.  The 
doors  were  of  flaming  brass,  so  hung  that, 
when  opened,  their  massive  hinges  began  the 
most  exquisite  melodies,  resounding  through- 
out the  entire  palace. 

But  the  "Hall  of  Celestial  Dreams" 
was  more  wonderful  still.  No  human  tongue 
could  describe  its  ingenious  arrangement. 
This  hall  had  been  constructed  by  a  holy 
santon,  who,  in  a  life-long  retirement  had 
conceived  and  perfected  its  wonderful  design. 
Its  walls  were  of  aromatic  woods,  so  carved 


36  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

as  to  form  a  thousand  and  seven  texts  from 
the  Koran  and  the  Sonna,  which  could  be 
read  from  as  many  different  points,  yet 
always  the  same.  Its  ceiling  represented  the 
entire  firmament,  moved  by  clock-work  so  as 
to  perform  the  regular  revolutions  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  as  they  were  understood  in 
the  time  of  the  santon. 

Through  imperceptible  crevices  in  the 
marble  floor,  whose  mosaics  were  set  so  as  to 
present  a  different  landscape  from  whatever 
angle  viewed,  exuded  the  most  delicate  and 
enduring  perfumes.  Sumptuous  divans  of 
gold,  crimson,  and  purple  brocade,  wrought 
into  vines  or  groves,  with  all  their  natural 
colors  of  fruit,  leaf  and  flower,  were  arranged 
about  the  hall  ;  and  whoever  slept  thereon 
might  see  in  his  dreams  whatever  he  most 
desired. 

It  was  to  this  Hall  of  Celestial  Dreams 
that  I  finally  repaired,  when  my  overwrought 
brain  could  endure  no  more,  in  hope  of  see- 
ing the  beloved  object  of  my  sorrow. 

Faithful  to  its  renown,  the  wonderful 
hall  presented,  in  a  dream,  the  darling  object 
to  my  view.     I  perceived  her,  in   a   state  of 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  37 

the  most  evident  despair,  seated  upon  a 
rocky  ledge  on  a  distant  island.  So  great 
was  my  transport  at  beholding  the  long-lost 
Saffana  that  I  spared  not  a  moment  from 
gazing  upon  her  heavenly  face  and  to  locate 
the  surroundings  —  an  error  which  I  soon 
deprecated  deeply,  as  I  woke  still  ignorant 
of  the  place  of  her  detention  ;  a  second 
admission  to  the  Hall  not  being  allowed. 

However,  I  had  already  experienced  sor- 
row, and  determined  that,  without  pausing  to 
indulge  unavailing  regrets,  I  would  set  out 
immediately  to  search  all  the  islands  of  the 
sea  for  my  abducted  treasure. 

The  vessel  in  which  I  sailed,  after  being 
out  for  nearly  two  months,  one  day  encoun- 
tered a  terrific  storm,  and  was  dashed  to 
pieces  by  the  fury  of  the  waters.  A  small 
boat,  into  which,  with  a  few  companions,  I 
had  thrown  myself  when  compelled  to  aban- 
don the  wreck,  floated  at  the  mercy  of  wind 
and  wave  for  three  days,  then  a  monster 
sword-fish  pierced  and  sank  it,  and  I  alone, 
of  all  my  companions,  reached  a  desolate 
island  close  at  hand. 

Its  form,   somewhat    in  the  shape  of  a 


38  THE  FALL  OP  UTOPIA. 

crescent,  reminded  me  of  the  seat  of  that  per- 
fect government,  Utopia,  of  which  I  had  so 
often  heard.  For  more  than  a  day  I  wan- 
dered about  among  the  ruins  of  what  had 
evidently  been  substantial  cities,  and  mar- 
velled much  at  the  shattered  walls  and 
deserted  streets.  On  the  evening  of  the 
second  day  I  was  astonished  to  perceive  two 
figures  —  a  gray  haired  man  and  a  damsel  of 
astonishing  beauty  —  sitting  together  on  the 
desolate  sea  shore.  Astonishment  was  soon 
transformed  into  uncontrollable  delight,  how- 
ever, when,  on  approaching,  I  discovered  the 
maiden  to  be  none  other  than  my  long-lost 
Saffana  !  I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  that 
thrilling  scene  of  mutual  surprise.  Tongue 
and  pen  fall  powerless.  Nature  would  con- 
vulse in  vain. 

When  the  first  ecstasies  of  meeting  had 
passed  away,  I  turned  to  her  aged  companion, 
and,  learning  that  my  conjectures  were  cor 
rect,  gave  eager  ear,  as  in  retrospect,  he- 
related  the  sad  stories  connected  with  the 
Fall  of  Utopia. 


Chapter  V. 

THE  Utopian's  story. 

.MONG  the  multitudinous 
principles,  which,  opera- 
ting together,  brought 
about  the  lamentable  de- 
struction of  Utopia,  and, 
upon  the  site  of  one  of 
the  most  wonderful  gov- 
ernments ever  devised 
by  wisdom  and  executed 
by  discretion,  planted  the  standard  of  deso- 
lation, it  is  impossible  to  select  any  definite 
agency  to  which  one  can  point  with  accuracy 
as  the  predominant  cause  of  this  mighty 
falling  away. 

Numerous  and  various  as  have  been  these 
causes,  the  conclusion  to  which  we  are  driven, 
in  the  absence  of  any  specific  principles  to 
which  the  destruction  is  attributable,  is,  that, 
the  fullness  of  time  having  arrived,  the  con 
tinual  operations  of  combined  circumstances, 
39 


40  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

finally  wrought  their     fatal   consummation. 

From  the  Almighty's  "  Let  there  be  !  " 
human  hearts  have  ever  been  the  same.  The 
passions  have  waged  with  equal  warmth  and 
similar  inclination  in  every  land  and  time. 
Imitation,  the  most  natural  and  instinctive 
trait  known  to  man,  lapses  quite  as  naturally 
into  rivalry  and  contention.  Envy  and 
avarice  insinuate  themselves,  and  the  princi- 
ples of  spontaneous  destruction  are  thus  un- 
consciously introduced  into  the  best  of  econ- 
omies. 

The  human  mind,  never  refusing  to 
entertain  strong  appeals  to  the  passions,  per- 
mits itself  to  engender  a  love  of  the  marvel- 
ous, which,  working  upon  the  delighted 
imagination,  gradually  alienates  the  sober 
and  dispassionate  elements  necessary  to 
proper  preservation,  and  allows  idleness  and 
dissolutions  to  creep  into  its  strongholds. 
Superstition,  following,  exerts  its  undermin. 
ing  influence,  and  from  the  whole,  spring 
unnumbered  evils.  The  mind,  too,  as  though 
intuitively  recognizing  its  celestial  origin, 
seems  ever  yearning  for  its  lost  estate,  and 
is,  by  nature,   inconstant   and    restless  and 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  41 

anxious  for  repeated  changes.  As  a  conse- 
quence, the  monotonous  similarity  of  dress, 
custom  and  habitation,  such  as  the  Utopian 
policy  provided,  excluding,  moreover,  the  in- 
centives of  ambition  and  pride,  no  less  than 
envy  and  vainglory,  could  not  but  receive  a 
final  overthrow. 

Since  no  two  men  may  perceive  precisely 
alike,  a  difference  of  opinion  must  exist 
among  all  mankind.  This,  becoming  known, 
as  it  naturally  will,  in  the  course  of  intercom- 
munication, creates  various  discussions,  every 
man  holding  tenaciously  to  his  own  tenets  ; 
wrangling  and  contention,  inflamed  with  an 
inherent  passion,  bring  about  malice,  envy, 
hatred  and  a  disintegration  of  those  institu- 
tions which  concord  and  unanimity  alone 
can  preserve.  Religion,  science  and  philoso- 
phy continually  hold  open  the  ample  fields  of 
disputation,  which  but  widen  at  each  advance. 

This  spirit  of  selfishness,  withdrav/ing 
the  individual  from  the  commonality,  brought 
on,  in  this  instance,  the  desire  of  individual 
wealth  and  personal  emolument.  Strife, 
avarice,  cunning  and  deception  came  each  to 
play  its    part.     Bickerings  and  feuds    mar- 


42  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

shalled  in  the  spirit  of  retaliation,  and  all  the 
agencies  of  intestine  discord  were  soon  at 
work. 

The  continuation  of  a  government  char- 
acterized by  a  community  of  property,  a  con- 
tempt for  wealth  and  ornament,  and  a  weary- 
ing simplicity  of  dress  and  abode,  was  hence, 
in  itself,  impracticable  ;  but,  the  element 
which  most  nearly  approached  to  a  pre-emi- 
nence in  working  the  fall  of  Utopia,  was  the 
introduction  of  foreigners  and  their  manners. 

Association  readily  breeds  assimilation, 
and  the  various  customs  of  other  nations 
soon  exerted  influences  that  in  addition  to 
those  just  mentioned,  wrought  the  final  over 
throw. 

However,  anxious  stranger,  without 
troubling  you  longer  with  my  own  analytical 
opinions,  I  will  proceed  to  relate  a  few  of  the 
more  prominent  incidents  in  the  history  of 
this  unfortunate  island,  and  leave  you  to  draw 
your  own  conclusions  from  these  stories  of 
love  and  hope  and  beauty  ;  of  pride  and 
envy  and  avarice. 

I  must  speak  of  deeds  that  were  done 
before  my  day,  handed  down,   as  they  have 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  43 

been,  by  indubitable  traditions,  with  no 
inducement  to  misrepresentation,  so  I  will 
go  back  to  what  seems  to  be  the  beginning, 
and  I  doubt  not  but  what  you  will  be  able  to 
trace  from  these  stories  the  spark  that  ulti- 
mately brought  about  this  lamentable  ruin. 

It  was  not  far  from  this  spot  that  the 
rays  of  the  setting  sun,  falling  upon  a  ver- 
dant grotto  which  opened  upon  the  gentle 
windings  of  the  river  Anidar,  softly  touched 
a  haggard  brow  upon  which  the  beads  of 
death  were  slowly  gathering.  At  the  kiss  of 
the  tender  sunlight  the  dying  man  opened 
his  glassy  eyes,  and,  not  entirely  vanquished 
by  the  throes  of  this  final  hour,  a  mighty  soul 
shone  through.  A  profound,  tenacious,  and 
unyielding  intellect  must  have  lain  behind  ; 
and  the  protracted  lucubrations  had  not 
failed  to  leave  their  marks. 

About  him,  in  careless  confusion,  lay 
many  yellow  scrolls  and  mysterious  instru- 
ments, so  disposed  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of 
zealous  usage. 

"  Daughter  ! "  The  sunken  eyes  beamed 
with  an  almost  natural  light  as  he  heard  him- 
self utter  the  cherished  name. 


44  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

The  hand  of  his  daughter,  Starlight, 
tightened  its  loving  grasp  upon  his  bony  fin- 
gers, and  the  old  man  turned  his  kindling  eyes 
upon  the  beautiful  girl.  Raising  his  feeble 
hand,  he  would  have  smoothed  the  soft, 
brown  ringlets  of  her  hair,  as  they  fell  in  un- 
confined  loveliness  about  her  noble  forehead, 
but  it  fell  listless  at  his  side.  A  sigh  of 
despair  half  escaped  his  lips. 

"  Daughter  !  the  stars  have  denied  me 
the  mysteries  I  sought,  and,  with  their  allur- 
ing secrets,  have  drawn  this  unrecompensed 
soul  to  the  great  Beyond.  But  no  beam 
from  the  rolling  spheres  could  ever  rival  my 
own  Starlight,  so  long  the  solace  of  my  en- 
feebled years  :  and  now  alas  !  I  must  lose 
thee,  too.  But  I  would  die,  as  I  have  lived, 
patiently  and  resignedl)^  Under  our  per- 
fect government  thy  temporal  wants  shall 
be  well  supplied,  and  may  the  great  Mithras 
ever  lovingly  guard  thy  soul  !  Kiss  me, 
Starlight  !  —  and  farewell !  " 

The  weeping  girl  tenderly  pressed  his 
clammy  lips,  and  the  old  man  breathed  no 
more. 


Chapter  VI. 

is  the  years  rolled  by  the  natural 
grace  of  Starlight  matured  in 
astonishing  beauty.  The  sor- 
rows of  her  early  life  set  a 
melancholy  softness  in  her 
deep,  dark  eyes,  and  a  touch- 
ing sadness  in  the  curve  of 
her  ripened  lips.  Her  nature,  too,  partook 
of  this  winning  gentleness,  and  the  tender- 
ness of  her  heart  was  known  to  be  equalled 
only  by  the  penetration  of  her  mind. 

In  the  same  family  as  that  to  which,  as 
was  the  custom  of  the  Utopians,  she  had  been 
confided  on  the  death  of  her  father,  there 
was  a  girl  of  about  her  own  age.  So  similar 
were  they,  not  only  in  disposition,  but  in  out- 
ward form,  and  so  enamored  were  they  of 
each  other,  that  they  were  known  throughout 
the  island  as  the  Sisters.  Their  beauty  and 
winning  traits  made  them  universally  re- 
nowned and  loved. 

Since  the  death  of  the  studious  recluse, 
45 


46  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA* 

Starlight  and  Phrystia  had  been  inseparable. 
Side  by  side,  when,  on  harvest  day,  the 
Utopians  went  forth  to  gather  their  sun- 
ripened  grain,  the  devoted  friends  pursued 
their  appointed  tasks.  At  evening,  and  dur- 
ing the  leisure  hours  of  noon,  they  retired 
alone  to  the  cool,  refreshing  garden  of  their 
home,  where  they  would  join  their  voices  to 
the  sound  of  some  musical  instrument,  or 
read  aloud  by  turns  from  a  favorite  author. 
Thus  many  years  went  by.  Finally,  how- 
ever, an  incident  occurred  which  altered  the 
peaceful  tenor  of  their  lives. 

It  was  a  custom  among  the  Utopians  to 
send  out  one  of  their  inhabitants  occasionally, 
to  collect  debts  due  the  government  by  neigh- 
boring nations  for  the  overplus  of  corn,  wool, 
etc.,  sold  them  during  such  years  as  the  wis- 
dom and  industry  of  Utopia  had  produced 
more  than  was  requisite  for  their  own  con- 
sumption. Since,  in  the  island  itself,  a  com- 
munity of  property  obtained,  there  could  be 
no  need  of  money,  except  in  the  rare  case  of 
war ;  consequently  such  as  were  sent  to  col- 
lect these  dues  were  permitted  to  remain 
some  time  in  the  foreign  country  and  live  in 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  47 

the  most  sumptuous  and  expensive  manner, 
at  the  cost  of  the  State. 

Othiastes,  son  of  a  noble  Archphilarch 
of  Amaurot,  had  recently  returned  from 
such  a  mission.  Scarcely  had  he  reached  his 
native  city,  from  which  he  had  been  absent 
many  years,  when  the  fame  of  the  surpassing 
gentleness  and  beauty  of  Starlight  and  Phrys- 
tia  reached  his  ears.  His  naturally  amourous 
temperament  had  not  been  cooled  by  his 
sojourn  at  the  foreign  court,  and  he  hastened 
to  pay  his  respects  to  the  charming  and 
devoted  Sisters. 

The  reports  of  their  graceful  and  engag- 
ing manners  were  substantiated.  Indeed, 
notwithstanding  the  elevated  pitch  to  which 
rumor  had  raised  his  anticipations,  he  was 
compelled  to  confess  great  astonishment  on 
beholding  the  real  objects  of  such  unlimited 
praise,  beautiful  beyond  his  highest  concep- 
tions. It  is  unnecessary  to  relate  that  such 
wit  and  beauty  as  he  here  found  combined 
made  an  easy  prey  of  his  susceptible  heart. 
They  became  the  exclusive  objects  of  his 
dreams  and  meditations,  and  not  a  moment 
of  their  agreeable  companionship  was  sacri- 


48  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

ficed  but  upon  occasions  of  the  most  impera- 
tive necessity.  If  the  names  of  the  Sisters 
had  before  been  united  whenever  uttered, 
there  was  now  added  another  equally  insepara- 
ble. 

But  the  difficulty  of  making  a  preference 
between  the  two  soon  confronted  him,  for 
polygamy  was  not  allowed  in  Utopia.  So 
unselfishly  devoted  were  these  remarkable 
Sisters  that  each  even  sought  to  further  the 
interests  of  the  other  in  the  eyes  of  the  unde- 
cided lover,  to  whose  many  captivating  traits 
they,  nevertheless,  were  by  no  means  insensi- 
ble. This  generous  care  for  the  welfare  of 
each  other  rendered  both  but  more  amiable 
in  the  sight  of  Othiastes.  Thus  for  months 
he  stood  distracted  and  irresolute  between 
the  two. 

Finally,  however,  a  change  in  the  gener- 
ous love  of  Phrystia  decided  the  vacillating 
lover.  The  spirit  of  unselfish  affection  for 
her  foster  sister  gradually  declined  before 
her  more  ardent  passion  for  Othiastes,  and 
she,  at  length,  began  exercising  all  the 
artifices  she  could  conceive  to  prejudice  his 
heart  in  her  own  favor  —  for  there  are  no 


THE  FALL  OF  UTnPIA.  49 

surprises  in  love.  With  this  change  her 
whole  conduct  and  disposition  altered.  She 
avoided  the  uncomplaining  Starlight,  and 
seemed  to  regard  her  with  that  suspicion 
she  knew  she  had  justly  roused  against  her- 
self. The  silent  consciousness  of  an  ungener- 
ous action  rendered  her  petulant,  morose  and 
passionate. 

Othiastes  was  not  slow  to  perceive  this 
unkind  abandonment  of  the  gentle  Starlight, 
and  his  preference  for  the  astronomer's 
daughter  immediately  prevailed.  Henceforth 
she  alone  engaged  his  meditations  and  atten- 
tions. Phrystia  grew  daily  more  odious  in 
his  sight,  until,  intensified  by  his  increasing 
love  for  Starlight,  his  indifference  towards 
her  amounted  to  abhorrence. 


^ 


Chapter  VII. 

THI ASTES,  once  settled  in  his 
choice,  pursued  his  suit 
with  unfailing  zeal.  Starlight, 
ripening  daily  into  more  per- 
fect beauty,  became  his  sec- 
ond self,  and  scarcely  any  hour 
found  them  separate.  Side  by  side  in  all 
their  labors,  they  spent  their  leisure,  whether 
playing  the  engrossing  game  of  the  Virtues 
and  the  Vices,  or  wandering  through  the 
neighboring  groves  and  gardens,  always  in  a 
congenial  companionship. 

Starlight  retained  her  unselfish  regard 
for  the  false  Phrystia,  and  seemed  unconscious 
of  her  treachery.  Yet  she  could  not  but 
confess  a  partial  tenderness  for  her  assiduous 
lover.  However,  an  incident  soon  occurred 
which,  appealing  to  her  sympathetic  heart, 
diverted  the  tendency  of  her  passion. 

There  lived,  in  a  certain  quarter  of 
Amaurot,  a  youth  of  many  estimable  quali- 
ties   of  mind.     His  manly   character,  lively 

50 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  5I 

intelligence  and  generous  nature  had  ren- 
dered him  universally  beloved.  One  night 
he  dreamed  that,  as  he  walked  alone  in  the 
temple,  a  massive  candelabrum,  branched  into 
the  shape  of  a  sheaf  of  corn,  and  used  exclu- 
sively during  the  first  month  of  harvest,  sud- 
denly fell  upon  him  as  he  passed  beneath  it, 
and  struck  him  on  the  head  with  tre- 
mendous force.  He  fell,  bleeding,  to  the  floor 
and  seemed  experiencing  all  the  pangs  of  dis- 
solution when  he  awoke.  This  dream  he 
took  to  be  a  forerunner  of  his  death  when 
the  approaching  harvest  should  arrive,  and 
immediately  abandoned  himself  to  the 
deepest  melancholy. 

Nothing  could  distract  his  thoughts 
from  the  attended  calamity,  and  without  sleep 
or  sustenance,  day  or  night,  he  brooded  over 
his  unfortunate  situation.  Music  and  gaiety 
had  lost  their  charms.  Reading  and  disputa- 
tion, in  which,  especially,  he  once  delighted, 
could  not  bring  him  to  himself  again. 

The  tender  heart  of  Starlight  had  been 
touched  by  the  story  of  this  unfortunate 
youth,  and  she  determined  to  beguile  him,  if 
possible,  from  his  fatal  reflections.     She  often 


52  THE   FALL   OF   UTOPIA. 

visited  him,  and  exerted  all  her  charms  for 
his  recovery,  but,  while  he  could  not  remain 
altogether  insensible  to  such  unprecedented 
grace,  he  could  not  be  weaned  from  his  deep- 
ly seated  sorrow. 

Starlight  did  not  despair,  but  continued 
her  gentle  smiles  and  kindly  ministrations. 
Nor  could  her  sympathetic  heart  restrain  its 
feeling  within  the  bounds  of  a  friendly  and 
charitable  regard. 

The  troubled  youth  unconsciously  ac- 
quired a  stronger  sway  over  the  anxious  girl. 
Biased  in  favor  of  what  her  heart  conceived 
to  be  a  duty,  she  soon  abandoned  her  incipi- 
ent passion  for  Othiastes,  and,  quickened  by 
the  foretaste,  turned  toward  the  dechning 
Dreamer  with  the  most  ardent  devotion. 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  unmistakable 
evidence  of  an  inward  decline  —  hollowing 
cheeks  and  enfeebling  steps  —  it  might  have 
easily  been  supposed,  as,  well  pleased  with 
the  ingenuous  Starlight,  the  languisher 
would  smilingly  converse  with  the  devoted 
girl,  that  at  last  a  saviour  had  been  found  to 
divert  his  thoughts  from  their  dolorous  chan- 
nel. 


THE   FALL    OF    UTOPIA.  53 

Meantime  Othiastes  burned  with  jeal- 
ousy and  revenge.  Tne  fiercest  hatred  is 
often  but  a  kind  of  love.  It  is  passion,  all. 
And  the  disappointed  lover,  with  a  malignity 
commensurate  with  his  devotion,  in  that  wild 
inexplicable  spirit  of  destruction  and  desper- 
ation which  frequently  seizes  upon  human 
hearts,  resolved  on  a  fearful  vengeance  upon 
the  unsuspecting  Starlight. 

According  to  the  ancient  laws  of  our 
island,  for  any  two  or  more  inhabitants  to  be 
found  guilty  of  discussing  matters  pertaining 
to  the  government  was  considered  a  crime  for 
which  death  alone  could  atone,  and  this  pun- 
ishment was  often  most  summarily  executed. 
When  the  infamous  Othiastes  beheld  this 
remarkable  couple  so  often  in  each  other's 
company,  it  was  to  this  vigorous  and  invio- 
lable  law  that  his  desperate  heart  reverted. 
Here,  under  the  semblance  of  anxiety  for  his 
country's  welfare,  he  might  deal  his  fatal 
thrust  and  gratify  his  implacable  vengeance, 
unquestioned,   unsuspected   of  his    motives. 

Revenge  never  shrinks  from  its  instru- 
ments ;  and  passion  warms  the  blood  that 
would  else  run  cold.     At  this  critical  period, 


54  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

Othiastes  thought  of  the  treacherous  Phrys- 
tia.  "  What  heart,  once  sinning,  sins  but 
once  ?  "  said  he.  "  The  hell  in  human  breasts 
yearns  for  expiring  Virtue,  and  clamors 
loudly  for  its  corse  ;  and  envy,  joined  with 
depravity,  defies  both  heaven  and  earth." 

Seeking  out  the  unfaithful  Sister, 
Othiastes  renewed  his  attentions  ;  and  she, 
too  obtuse  to  perceive  the  motive  concealed 
beneath  his  specious  lovc,  abandoned  herself 
to  the  most  unrestrained  infatuation  over 
her  imagined  triumph. 

At  the  proper  moment,  the  vindictive, 
designing  lover  engaged  the  willing  Phrystia 
into  his  unconscionable  scheme,  and  soon 
the  island  of  Utopia  grew  noisy  with  whispers 
of  astonishment,  exchanged  on  every  hand, 
that  Starlight  and  her  remarkable  lover  had 
formulated  designs  against  the  government. 

With  trembling  expectancy  they  awaited 
her  appearance  before  the  Senate. 


Chapter  VIII. 

aTOPIA,  throughout  its  length  and 
breadth,  had,  for  some  time,  re-echoed 
the  startling  story,  and  now  the  inves- 
tigation was  at  hand. 

Starlight,  trembling  with  excitement, 
stood  before  the  assembled  Senate,  con- 
fronted by  her  accusers,  and  surrounded  by  a 
curious  multitude.  The  desperate  illness  of 
the  Dreamer,  who  shared  with  her  the  charge 
of  guilt,  had  prevented  his  appearance,  and 
so  she  stood  alone. 

Othiastes,  displaying  the  boldness  of  an 
unfeeling  heart,  began  his  accusations  with  a 
half  triumphant  air  and  unhesitating  voice. 
His  well  conceived  story,  couched  in  words 
of  studied  smoothness,  seemed  to  carry  con- 
viction as  it  fell.  During  his  pauses,  all  eyes 
were  turned  upon  the  unfortunate  girl. 
Many  gave  vent  to  expressions  of  indignation 
and  heaped  maledictions  upon  the  trembling 
Starlight,  who  had  dared  to  concert  designs 
against  the  public  good.  Others  gazed  with 
55 


56  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

compassion  and  incredulity  into  her  innocent, 
downcast  eyes. 

The  shameless  Phrystia  followed,  sub- 
stantiating the  charges  of  Othiastes,  and 
recounting  various  occasions  on  which  she 
herself  had  overheard  treasonable  words  fall 
from  the  lips  of  the  lovers. 

The  Prince  then  turned  to  Starlight  and 
bade  her  speak,  if  there  was  anything  she 
wished  to  say  in  her  defence.  She  raised 
her  head,  and,  calming  her  emotion,  with  a 
half  defiant  glance  in  her  naturally  tender 
eyes,  thus  began  : 

*'  Prince  and  most  noble  Senators !  if 
love  be  criminal,  I  have  sinned  ;  if  sympathy 
be  transgressive,  I  have  erred  ;  and  if  tender- 
ness for  the  unfortunate  be  accounted  treason 
to  the  State,  most  deeply  have  I  offended, 
and  most  willingly  will  I  suffer  ;  but,  if  a 
regard  for  the  tender  ties  of  humanity  and  a 
response  to  the  gentle  dictates  of  a  woman's 
heart  may  continue  to  be  considered  as  in  the 
spirit  of  our  government,  most  jealously  have 
I  kept  the  law.  Unaccustomed  to  the  machi- 
nations of  the  wicked  and  designing,  and  a 
stranger,  by  reason   of  my  sex,  to  the  art  of 


THK  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  57 

disputation,  there  is  but  little  hope  that  my 
simple  contradiction  of  the  charges  urged 
against  me  will  be  able  to  prevail  against  the 
artifice  and  chicanery  of  an  accomplished 
deceiver.  Let  me  not  hope  to  be  so  fortu- 
nate. But,  having  ingenuously  related  the 
true  reason  of  this  persecution,  no  judgement 
can  deprive  me  of  my  serenity  of  conscience, 
nor  the  buoyancy  of  spirit  which  follows  the 
innocent  to  the  grave. 

"  You  must  know,  most  sapient  counsel- 
lor !  that  a  jealous  heart  is  the  bed-stone  of 
this  calumnious  fabric.  The  love  of  Othi- 
astes'  frozen  heart  has  melted  into  revenge. 
Once  he  loved  me,  but  I  did  not  retain  a  simi- 
lar love  for  him  ;  and  from  the  depths  of  his 
despair  all  this  turpitude  has  evolved. 
From  the  cinders  of  hope  burst  the  flames 
of  desperation  ;  while  the  throne  of  benefi- 
cence becomes  the  footstool  of  depravity.  I 
loved  —  still  love  —  another;  and  this  love 
his  abandoned  heart  would  make  the  instru- 
ment of  my  destruction. 

'^  She  who  ratifies  his  accusations,  once 
the  sister  of  my  heart,  and  but  dearer  for  the 
relationship  which  no  common  blood  allied. 


58  THE  FALL  OF  UTOFlA. 

has  been  weaned  from  her  sisterly  devotion 
by  the  stronger  appeals  of  her  passion  for 
Othiastes.  Her  I  will  spare  all  denunciation 
or  reproach,  well  knowing  that  the  agonies  of 
retribution  will  be  sufficient  when  her  dissim- 
ulating lover,  his  end  accomplished,  has  un- 
gratefully abandoned  her. 

"  I  can  do  no  more  than  repeat  my  pro- 
testation of  innocence.  They  who  love-enist 
suffer.  There  is  a  fable,  which  a  cunning 
Greek  relates,  that  '  from  a  mystic  egg,  laid 
by  primeval  Night,  sprang  forth  sweet  Eros 
with  his  golden  wings,  the  pervading  princi- 
ple of  Love.'  But,  rather,  for  me,  has  im- 
mortal Eros  hatched  from  some  mystic  egg 
deep  chaos  and  eternal  night  !  " 

Starlight  ceased.  Overcome  with  emo- 
tion she  sank  almost  at  the  feet  of  her 
accusers. 

In  spite  of  the  Constitution  of  Utopia, 
which  declared  that  all  deliberations  of  state 
should  continue  three  days  before  the  final 
judgement,  the  Prince  and  Council  were 
about  to  render  their  decisions  when,  in  the 
midst  of  the  uproarious  multitude,  a  man 
mounted  upon  the  shoulders  of  his  fellows 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  59 

and  shouted  to  the  Council,  above  the  din, 
to  be  allowed,  by  special  exception,  to  speak 
in  behalf  of  the  accused,  seeing  her  own 
inability  to  defend  herself,  and  her  accusers 
being  two  to  one. 

The  Prince,  answering  for  the  Council, 
granted  the  permission. 

This  generous  stranger  —  stranger  at 
least  to  Starlight  —  was  one  of  the  public 
disputants  of  Utopia,  who,  by  a  provision  of 
its  government,  on  having  displayed  suffic- 
ient talent  and  inclination,  are  exempt  from 
the  daily  duties  of  common  citizens,  and  are 
allowed  to  devote  their  time  to  study  and 
debate. 

No  other  incentive  than  the  sympathetic 
concern  which  Starlight's  deplorable  situa- 
tion had  awakened  actuated  him  to  under- 
take her  rescue,  but,  plunging  into  the  heat 
of  argument,  and  inspired  by  the  righteous- 
ness of  his  cause,  he  attacked  the  fallacious 
charges  with  a  vigor,  dexterity,  and  penetra- 
tion which  proved  him  a  most  accomplished 
disputant.  One  by  one  the  allegations  of  the 
accusers  were  forced  to  fall  before  his  tre- 
mendous sweeps  ;  but,  in  spite  of  his  mighty 


6o  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

effort,  he  was  unable  to  prove,  by  living  evi- 
dence, the  falsity  of  the  accusations.  With 
a  mighty  appeal  to  the  dictates  of  innate  jus- 
tice and  humanity,  the  speaker  concluded 
and  disappeared. 

The  tumult  among  the  divided  multitude 
ran  high.  Confusion  reigned  supreme.  All 
efforts  to  restore  quiet  were,  for  some  time, 
in  vain.  Comparative  silence,  however,  was 
finally  secured. 

The  Senators  assembled  closely  about 
the  Prince,  and,  in  undertones,  began  their 
deliberations.  The  Council  was  much  divi- 
ded ;  many  arguing  the  youth,  even  the 
beauty,  as  well  as  the  evident  innocence  of  the 
maiden  ;  some  remembered  the  estimable 
qualities  of  her  studious  father  ;  some  were 
touched  by  her  tender  attachment  to  the 
Dreamer.  Others  noted  only  the  lack  of 
conclusive  contradiction  of  the  charges  made 
against  her  and  descanted  upon  their  duty  to 
fulfil  the  letter  of  the  law. 

A  decision  was  finally  reached.  The 
Prince  arose,  holding  in  his  hand  the  decisive 
judgment.  Not  a  sound  was  heard.  The 
anxious  crowd  leaned  forward  breathlessly  to 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  6l 

catch  the  word.  Every  eye  was  fixed  in 
intensest  expectation. 

Just  then  Starlight,  returning  to  con- 
sciousness, opened  her  eyes  and  feebly  stirred. 
The  lips  of  the  Prince  parted,  and  she  caught 
the  words  : 

**In  the  name  of  Mithras  and  of  Justice, 
death!" 

Starlight  sank  upon  the  floor. 


/? 


Chapter  IX. 

Last  day  before  harvest 
JU  was  nearly  spent.  The 
'  haggard  youth  who,  for 
months,  had  been  wast- 
ing away  with  his  afflict- 
ing apprehension,  now 
knew  that  the  end  was  near  and  that  his  vis- 
ion was  about  to  be  fulfilled.  Indeed,  the 
glassy  stare  of  approaching  death  was 
already  in  his  eyes. 

Turning  to  the  anxious  watchers  at  the 
bedside,  he  made  an  effort  as  though  to 
speak.     Presently  his  thin  lips  parted  : 

'<  Before  I  die,"  said  he,  ''I  desire,  my 
faithful  friends,  to  make  known  to  you  the 
story  of  my  life,  which  has  remained  undis- 
closed until  now,  and  I  pray  Heaven  for 
strength  to  sustain  me  while  relating  it. 

''That  I  am  not  a  Utopian  by  birth  is  no 

secret.     I   was  born   in  the  vicinity  of  one 

of  the  most  noted  of  European  capitals,  and 

was  the   elder  of   two  sons.     My  father,  a 

62 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  63 

man  of  no  small  fortune,  lavished  all  that 
heart  could  wish  upon  my  brother  and  myself, 
and  being  a  man  of  some  discretion,  he  assem- 
bled at  his  spacious  chateau,  the  most  learned 
and  distinguished  tutors,  sparing  no  cost  in 
embellishing  the  minds  of  his  idolized  chil- 
dren. Our  every  whim  and  fancy,  from  very 
infancy,  had  been  indulged,  and,  but  for  the 
ineradicable  perversity  of  our  hearts,  even 
after  his  lamented  death,  we  might  have  con- 
tinued happy. 

"  My  brother,  though  otherwise  a  man 
of  infinite  good  sense,  generous,  handsome 
and  engaging,  was  yet  possessed  of  the  most 
amorous  of  all  hearts.  This  weakness, 
whether  from  inability  or  a  want  of  inclina- 
tion, he  rarely  failed  to  gratify,  and  was  con- 
sequently led  into  a  multitude  of  embarrass- 
ing errors  and  indiscretions.  His  passions 
pursued  their  caprices  with  a  blind  disre- 
gard for  whatever  consequences  might  be 
entailed. 

"  As  for  myself,  an  insatiable  avarice 
was  my  predominant  passion,  and  in  its  grati- 
fication I  was  no  less  impetuous  than  my 
uxorious   brother.     My    father,    during    our 


64  THE   FALL   OF   UTOPIA. 

childhood,  in  order  to  counteract  the  inclina- 
tion towards  prodigality,  had  caused  us  to  be 
instructed,  though  in  the  midst  of  luxury,  to 
recognize  the  wisdom  of  providence  and  econ- 
omy. In  my  brother,  the  effect  was  the 
desired  medium,  but  in  myself,  confirming  a 
natural  inclination,  it  soon  produced  a  sordid, 
niggardly  avarice,  which  set  all  ties  and  feel- 
ings at  defiance. 

"  Immediately  upon  the  death  of  our 
father,  my  brother  and  myself  apportioned 
our  inheritance.  The  chateau  itself,  in  addi- 
tion to  a  considerable  sum  fell  to  the  share 
of  my  brother  ;  while  to  me  fell  the  rich 
estates  surrounding  it,  with  a  proportionate 
amount  of  ready  money. 

'*  My  brother,  desiring  to  travel,  soon 
set  off,  after  heartily  granting  me  permission 
to  occupy  the  paternal  residence  as  my  own 
until  his  return. 

**  In  the  warm,  luxuriant  countries  along 
the  Mediterranen  his  susceptible  heart  ex- 
panded with  delight,  and  seemed  to  feel  that 
it  had  found  the  perfect  paradise  of  love. 
Each  day  found  him  sighing  at  the  feet  of 
some  new  beauty,  and  the  suspecting  stars 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  65 

nightly  blushed  at  his  continual  vows.  Lav- 
ish and  improvident,  he  was  frequently  with- 
out funds  and  much  inconvenienced  to  re-es- 
tablish himself. 

*'  Finally,  with  his  unrestrained  excesses 
he  fell  ill.  In  a  neighboring  cloister  there 
lived  a  pious  nun,  alike  remarkable  for  her 
beauty  and  for  the  causes  which  led  her  to 
take  the  veil.  In  youth  she  had  loved  above 
her  station,  and,  in  order  to  deliver  the 
object  of  her  affection  from  the  threatened 
resentment  of  an  intolerant  uncle,  she  had 
proved  the  genuineness  of  her  devotion  by 
secretly  withdrawing  from  the  world.  An 
uncommon  care  and  tenderness  characterized 
her  ministrations,  and  her  goodness  and 
beauty  made  her  known  far  and  near. 

*'VVhen  my  brother  fell  ill,  she  hastened 
to  visit  him,  and  each  succeeding  day  found 
her  religiously  at  his  side. 

**  One  day  she  noticed  a  signet  upon  his 
hand,  and  its  remarkable  motto  excited  her 
surprise.  During  the  feudal  ages  a  popular 
amusement  at  the  various  courts  of  Gaul 
was  a  kind  of  verbal  tournament  between  dif- 
ferent troubadours  or  minstrels,  on  questions 


66  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

of  love,  over  vi^hich  the  noble  ladies  usually- 
presided  and  arbitrated.  A  curious  code, 
anonymously  compiled,  and  of  great  antiquity, 
was  used  on  these  occasions,  a  copy  of  which, 
in  the  palace  of  King  Arthur,  was  suspended 
by  a  chain  of  gold  from  a  falcon's  perch. 
From  this  peculiar  work  my  brother  had 
taken  the  following  appropriate  line:  Z^ Ainour 
ne  jjeutrien  refuser  a  V amour.  It  was  with 
this  sentiment  in  his  heart  and  these  words 
on  his  signet  that  he  had  set  out  to  conquer 
the  world. 

Perceiving  these  remarkable  words,  the 
human  nature  in  the  breast  of  the  lovely 
recluse  prevailed,  and  she  desired  my  brother, 
now  much  improved,  to  give  an  account  of 
his  eccentricity. 

"This  request  but  afforded  an  oppor- 
tunity to  express  the  ungovernable  love, 
improper,  he  confessed,  but  not  impure, 
which  he  had  long  since  conceived  for  her. 
Surfeited  with  idle  and  unprofitable  passions, 
he  had  really  come  to  love  this  tender,  self- 
sacrificing  unfortunate  with  a  depth  and  sin- 
cerity which  lent  persuasive  force  to  his 
appeals. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  d^ 

"At  first  the  gentle  nun  was  over- 
whelmed with  chagrin  and  astonishment  at 
this  disregard  for  the  sanctity  of  her  office, 
and  scorned  his  audacious  advances  ;  but, 
having  once  been  touched  by  words  of  famil- 
iar softness,  the  half-forgotten  chords  again 
vibrated  in  her  heart,  and,  in  the  intoxica- 
tion of  awakened  love,  in  the  transports  of 
feeling,  augmented  by  a  favor  which  she  was 
forced  to  confess  she  entertained  for  her 
charge,  she  finally  renounced  her  vows  of 
celibacy  and  seclusion,  and  awaited  with 
impatience  my  brother's  recovery,  which 
would  witness  the  consummation  of  their 
nuptials. 

'*  With  all  the  anxiety  of  a  loving  heart, 
she  noted  each  phase  of  his  convalescence, 
and  rejoiced  at  the  approach  of  the  welcome 
day  of  union. 

"But  the  happiness  of  both  was  to  be 
unfulfilled.  She  herself  fell  sick  on  the  eve 
of  the  approaching  alliance.  Day  by  day  she 
declined.  Love  and  tenderness  were  unavail- 
ing and  at  last  she  died. 

"  Overcome  with  his  insupportable  sor- 
row, my  distracted  —  brother  —  retur  —  " 


68  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

The  dying  man  could  say  no  more.  A 
convulsion  seized  his  emaciated  frame,  and 
the  agonies  of  death  seemed  upon  him. 


Chapter  X. 

was  a  doubtful  struggle. 
Life  and  death  contending 
for  the  mastery  !  Now  one, 
now  the  other  seemed  about 
to  prevail.  At  last  the  pati- 
ent's fixed  eyes  opened  again, 
and  his  spirit  veered  toward  the 
world  of  the  living.  Slowly  he  recognized 
his  surroundings  and  finally  was  sufficiently 
recovered  to  resume  his  story  : 

**  As  for  me,  no  power  could  eradicate 
the  inveterate  avarice  of  my  nature.  While 
my  generous  parent  lived,  the  friends  and 
companions  who  laughed  with  me  were  as 
numerous  as  his  unstinted  liberality  and  good 
fellowship  could  procure,  and  these  boyhood 
friends  were  as  sincere  and  unselfish  as  heart 
could  wish.  Nor  did  I  lack  that  tender  love 
which  no  sex  can  ever  receive  from  its  kind. 
"A  gentle,  loving  creature  had  given 
me  the  pure  affections  of  her  childish  heart. 
In  return,  I  adored  her.  But  alas  for  my 
unconquerable  weakness  ! 
69 


70  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

"The  covetous  heart  is  a  sorcerer 
leagued  with  liell,  before  whose  almighty 
touch  love  and  trust  melt  away  as  the  snow 
summers  off  from  the  mountains  !  Idolatrous 
iconoclast !  Arch-destroyer  of  human  hopes  ! 
The  thief  of  souls  !  The  off-spring  of  envy ; 
the  parent  of  jealousy  ;  the  enemy  of  peace 
and  mercy  !  Cursed  spirit  of  despair  !  One 
by  one,  my  envious  and  despicable  heart 
destroyed  its  tranquil  pleasures. 

"  On  the  return  of  my  sorrowful  brother 
from  the  scene  of  his  overwhelming  misfor- 
tune, far  from  receiving  him  with  brotherly 
cordialty  and  the  tenderness  which  his 
remorseful  and  melancholy  state  of  mind 
demanded,  I  not  only  refused  him  admission 
to  the  home  of  his  childhood,  but  maintained 
absolute  possession  of  the  property  which  he 
had  unsuspectingly  entrusted  to  me. 

"  Perceiving  the  effect  of  his  unrestrained 
confidence,  and  the  utter  futility  of  any 
attempt  to  recover  his  chateau,  even  if 
inclined,  he  sadly  left  me  in  quiet  possession 
of  our  ancestral  estate.  Nor  have  I  ever 
seen  him  since. 

"  One  would  think  that  the  compunction 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA,  71 

of  conscience  for  having  committed  such  an 
outrage  would  have  cured  this  distemper 
of  the  soul ;  but  avarice  would  deplume  the 
angels,  and  coin  the  golden  throne  of  God  ! 
The  nearest  and  dearest  of  my  friends  were 
gradually  estranged.  The  humble  peasants 
whom  I  once  esteemed  for  their  intrinsic  vir- 
tues, I  now  despised  for  their  lowliness.  My 
heartless  treatment  of  indigent  dependents 
and  fallen  friends  would  make  a  revolting 
story. 

"  She  whom  I  had  once  tenderly  loved 
fell  a  victim  to  my  impartial  passion.  For 
months  together  she  would  be  forced  to 
mourn  my  neglect,  when  a  blind  absorption 
in  business  affairs  led  my  thoughts  away  ; 
again  she  would  find  herself  the  object  of 
intolerant  jealousy.  Thus  my  inconstant 
heart  vascillated  until  one  day,  as  we  stood 
upon  a  beetling  cliff  overlooking  a  scene  of 
surpassing  grandeur,  she  turned  to  a  youth 
who  accompanied  us,  and  addressing  him, 
smiled  with  what  I  chose  to  think  too  much 
warmth.  Being  more  ill-humored  than  usual, 
I  was  so  provoked  at  her  boldness  that  I 
dealt  her  a  heavy  blow,  and  she  fell  lifeless 


72  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

and  mangled  upon  the  jagged  rocks   below. 

"  I  was  for  some  time  insensible  of  the 
magnitude  of  my  crime ;  but,  gradually 
recovering  from  my  intoxicated  and  resentful 
state  of  mind,  I  came  to  a  realizing  sense  of 
my  ferocious  conduct,  and  gradually  grew 
less  interested  in  my  lands  and  coffers. 
Once  beginning  to  soften,  my  heart  recalled 
with  infinite  remorse,  the  happy  days  of  my 
innocent  childhood,  spent  in  the  sweet  com- 
panionship of  the  gentle  being  I  had  mur- 
dered !  " 

The  Dreamer  could  scarcely  continue 
for  emotion.  He  seemed  to  experience  all 
the  agonies  of  which  he  told.  His  voice,  too, 
was  growing  perceptibly  weaker,  and  his 
story  seemed  about  to  remain  unconcluded. 
After  some  time,  however,  he  again  rallied, 
and  continued. 

"  It  is  needless  to  attempt  a  description 
of  my  feelings  at  this  critical  time.  Every 
reminder  of  my  sordid  passion  became  insup- 
portably  odious,  and  I  determined  to  aban- 
don the  scenes  of  error  forever. 

**  It  was  about  this  time  that  I  learned 
from  an  aged  sailor,  of  a  country  beyond  the 


THE   FALL    OF    UTOPIA.  73 

seas  which  he  called  *'  Hutopia,"  where  all 
property  was  owned  in  common,  and  money 
was  a  thing  unknown.  There  would  conse- 
quently be  no  strife,  or  covetousness,  and 
such,  it  seemed  to  me  would  be  a  suitable 
asylum  for  my  self-detested  soul. 

*•  I  accordingly  agreed  with  the  mariner 
that  if  he  would  but  land  me  safely  on  that 
peaceful,  favored  island,  he  should  have  pos- 
session of  all  my  rich  estates.  In  a  short 
while  we  began  our  journey,  and  in  due  time 
arrived  at  Amaurot,  where  I  have  ever  since 
remained." 

He  ceased.  Exhausted  as  he  was  with 
his  lengthy  narrative,  it  was  evident  that  his 
end  would  soon  come.  His  breath  came  at 
less  regular  intervals,  and  with  greater  diffi- 
culty. He  lingered  until  the  rising  sun 
peeped  over  the  eastern  hills,  and  as  the  har- 
vest day  came  beautifully  on,  the  watchers 
around  his  bedside  whispered  : 

"The  dream  has  been  fulfilled  !  " 


Chapter  XI. 

HE  day  of  Starlight's  execution 
{"i^had  arrived.  Excited  groups  of 
citizens,  who  had  not  yet  forgotten 
the  recent  scenes  in  the  Senate, 
were  assembled  at  various  places 
throughout  the  city  of  Amaurot,  and  the 
unrestrained  fury  of  partisan  hatred  among 
those  who  approved  or  condemned  the  fatal 
sentence  gave  a  menacing  appearance  which 
had  never  been  known  before.  All  efforts 
towards  pacification  were  ineffectual,  and  so 
universal  was  the  feeling,  either  for  or 
against  the  condemned  conspirator,  that  only 
a  few  desired  to  make  the  attempt.  Long 
before  dawn  the  streets  had  begun  to  surge 
with  the  restless,  clamorous,  mad  throng 
and,  deserting  their  flocks  and  fields  in  the 
general  frenzy,  the  people  of  the  neighboring 
country  came  into  the  excited  city. 

The    warmth    of    dispute    often    led   to 
blows,    and,    friend    joining    friend,    riotous 
numbers  were  frequently  embroiled.     Much, 
74 


THE   FALL    OF    UTOPIA.  7$ 

indeed,  was  to  be  feared  from  the  increasing 
contentions,  and  Amaiirot  trembled  for  its 
fate. 

The  immediate  vicinity  of  Starlight's 
place  of  confinement  was  naturally  the  point 
of  centralization,  and  here  all  Utopia  seemed 
assembled.  Here  was  the  scene  of  the  most 
portentous  violence. 

At  last  Starlight  appeared,  surrounded 
by  officers  and  ghostly  counsellors,  and  the 
solemn  train  began  wending  its  way  toward 
the  place  of  execution. 

Popular  frenzy  became  wilder  still,  and 
the  hideous  riot  and  din,  spreading  wider  and 
wider,  growing  louder  and  louder,  became  a 
chaotic  convulsion,  a  seething  anarchy. 

Starlight's  partisans  seemed  the  predom- 
inant faction,  and  when  she  appeared  the 
contest  for  her  release  became  indescribably 
frantic.  The  sympathetic  heart  of  the 
Utopian  populace  was  touched  ;  their  blood 
was  all  aflame.  Civil  strife,  before  unknown, 
was  more  awful  for  its  novelty  ;  its  conse- 
quent disasters  had  not  yet  been  learned. 

The  tumultuous  crowd  had  been  kept  at 
bay,  but,  passing  into  a  narrower  street,  a 


7^  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

funeral  train  was  suddenly  encountered, 
slowly  marching  along  to  the  sound  of  solemn 
music.  Death  beheld  death  and  shuddered. 
The  multitude  grew  calmer  for  a  moment, 
and  someone  whispered  : 

"  The  Dreamer  !  " 

Starlight's  expectant  ears  caught  the 
words  and  she  fell  senseless  to  the  earth. 

Without  pausing  to  ascertain  the  cause, 
the  infuriated  crowd  renewed  its  struggles 
with  greater  desperation  than  ever.  Think- 
ing the  object  of  their  contention  dead,  the 
partisans  of  Starlight  turned  revengefully 
upon  the  homes  of  their  foes,  and,  laying 
waste  with  astonishing  rapidity,  touched 
fire  to  the  rifled  buildings,  and  put  the  axe  to 
the  groves  and  gardens  of  the  citizens  who  had 
so  recently  become  their  implacable  enemies. 

The  work  of  devastation  was  already 
progressing  with  a  celerity  which  promised 
an  early  destruction  of  the  city,  and  even  a 
desolation  of  the  island,  when  the  prostrate 
girl  opened  her  eyes.  Consciousness  returned 
and,  glancing  about  her,  she  saw  the  awful 
evidence  of  the  vengeance  which,  she  learned, 
was  being  executed  in  her  behalf. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  ']^ 

Through  the  tumult  she  implored  them, 
as  best  she  could,  to  forbear.  For  a  moment 
she  seemed  to  forget  her  own  anguish  of  heart 
in  her  anxiety  for  the  city.  Her  supplica- 
tions were  for  a  long  time  disregarded,  but 
they  finally  prevailed,  and  the  maddened 
crowd  which  mocked  at  opposition  was  moved 
by  persuasion. 

Seeming  to  feel  duty  grow  upon  her, 
she  begged  her  riotous  partisans  to  cease 
their  quarrels  altogether,  and,  the  weaker 
faction  which  opposed  being  only  too  glad  to 
permit  them,  they  gradually  became  more 
subdued. 

Discretion,  too,  directed  that  it  would 
be  advisable  to  forego  the  execution  ot  Star- 
light until  some  more  advantageous  time,  and 
so,  not  without  some  half-smothered  curses 
from  the  infuriated  crowds,  the  pale  and 
trembling  maiden  was  returned  to  her  gloomy 
confinement. 

What  agony  of  heart  she  must  have  felt ! 
He  whom  she  loved  —  so  dearly,  deeply 
loved  —  had  expired  in  her  absence  !  Who 
had  been  there  to  kiss  the  death-dew  from 
his  brow,  and  cool  his  burning  pulse  t     His 


78  THE   FALL    OF    UTOPIA. 

last  words,  what  were  they  ?  Was  there  a 
message  ?  When  had  he  died  ?  These 
must  have  been  the  shadows  of  her  thought- 
realities  ! 

Most  prominent  in  the  angry  rabble 
which  struggled  to  deliver  Starlight  from  her 
fate  was  noticed  a  youth  whose  refined,  intel- 
ligent face  formed  a  striking  contrast  with 
the  coarse  and  hardened  features  of  his  fel- 
lows. When  fury  was  at  its  height  none 
was  so  furious  as  he,  and  the  boldness  of  his 
attacks,  the  pertinacity  with  which  they  were 
pursued,  was  noticeable  even  in  that  indis- 
criminate wan 

Who  was  he  ?  everyone  asked.  "  The 
Disputant !  "  When  the  frenzy  of  conflict 
had  subsided  he  suddenly  disappeared. 
"What  had  become  of  him  }  " 

It  was  an  ominous  absence,  for  his  sul- 
len soul  had  withdrawn  only  to  meditate 
upon  dark  designs.  In  the  silence  of  retire- 
ment was  being  evolved  destructive  agencies, 
and  soon,  sweeping  down  upon  Utopia  from 
an  unsuspected  quarter,  desolation  was  to 
light  upon  the  devoted  land. 

Men  fear  the  uncomprehended,   but  the 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  79 

dimly  known  is  doubly  feared.  What  his 
dark  designs  might  be  was  easy  to  imagine, 
but  what  they  were  was  unimaginable. 

Starlight  had  taken  possession  of  his 
soul,  whether  from  love  or  its  kindred,  sym- 
pathy, and  he  had  determined  that  retribu- 
tion should  be  visited  upon  those  who  sinned, 
and  upon  the  land  which  they  inherited. 


^ 


Chapter  XII. 


•  •     Viiv"  ■  •'• 

....q^ 

ip 

S>:^-. 

s 

^M 

HE  feast  of  Trapmenes  was 
at  hand,  and  the  last  day 
of  the  departing  year  was 
filled  with  revelry  and 
mirth.  The  streets  of  Am- 
aurot,  so  lately  thronged 
with  rioters  and  red  with  human  blood,  had 
become  the  scene  of  joy  and  festivity. 
Peace  dwelt  in  the  ruined  structures  of  the 
half-consumed  city,  whose  blackened  walls 
and  upturned  foundations  lined  the  widely 
wasted  streets. 

It  is  on  this  occasion  that  the  pious 
Utopian  children  make  annual  confession  to 
their  parents,  or  whomsoever  else  may  have 
their  guardianship,  and,  with  the  frankness 
which  characterizes  the  race,  avow  all  their 
faults  and  weaknesses. 

Althea,  the  daughter  of  the  Prince  of 
the  island  made  herself  no  exception,   and  a 
confession  made  on  this  new  year's  morning 
threw  all  Utopia  into  excitement. 
80 


THE    FALL    OF    UTOPIA.  8 1 

Among  the  associates  of  her  earlier  days, 
while  as  yet  her  father  was  but  an  unpreten- 
tious Philarch,  was  a  stranger  whose  manly 
bearing,  generous  nature,  and  agreeable  man- 
ners soon  won  her  tender  heart.  The  mutual 
passion  which  arose  continued  its  unruffled 
flow  until,  beneath  the  fervent  skies  of  later 
years,  its  blended  currents  gaily  danced  in 
ecstasies  of  delight. 

But  Althea  was  forced  to  mourn  parental 
disapproval  of  her  choice,  and  he  who  had 
once  tolerated,  even  encouraged,  the  enigmati- 
cal stranger,  now,  somewhat  pompous  by  pre- 
ferment, forbade  a  continuation  of  attentions 
to  his  daughter. 

Enigmatical,  I  say,  and  such  the  stran- 
ger was.  Not  a  native  of  Utopia,  yet  no  one 
knew  his  nationality.  A  vessel  silently 
anchored  one  night  in  the  crescent  harbor, 
and  he,  the  solitary  passenger,  came  ashore. 
The  vessel  left  as  silently  as  it  had  come,  and 
here,  apparently  without  any  definite  designs, 
the  stranger  had  ever  since  remained  ;  and, 
with  never  a  word  as  to  his  former  life  had 
entered  heartily  into  the  customs  and  the 
cares  of  his  adopted  land. 


82  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

During  a  recent  war  of  the  Utopians 
with  one  of  the  neighboring  nations,  the  stran- 
ger, furiously  fighting  in  the  foremost  ranks, 
had  been  taken  by  the  enemy.  Months  had 
passed  away,  and  still  Althea  vainly  lan- 
guished for  his  coming,  like  the  earth  for  the 
tardy  Spring,  and  it  was  during  these  months 
of  Erastus'  absence  that  the  trial  and  con- 
demnation of  Starlight,  with  all  the  Ian  enta- 
eble  consequences,  had  occurred. 

The  execrable  Phrystia,  enjoying  marked 
distinction  at  the  hands  of  the  Prince  since 
her  false  solicitation  for  the  welfare  of  the 
government,  was  often  in  the  company  of 
Althea.  Once,  when  the  maiden  was  heard 
to  murmur  against  the  unfeelingness  of  her 
father,  the  Prince,  for  having  refused  to  per- 
mit her  alliance  with  the  object  of  her  love 
ere  he  had  taken  what  seemed  to  be  his  last 
farewell,  Phrystia  ventured  to  confide  to  her 
that  the  charges  against  Starlight  were  but 
revengeful  fabrications. 

The  soul  of  Althea  recoiled  from  the 
odidous  woman  who  had  so  heartlessly  pro- 
faned the  sanctity  of  friendship  and  the  noble 
principles  of  truth,  in  the  gratification  of  her 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  83 

selfish  ends,  and,  fired  with  indignation,  she 
threatened  to  expose  her  treachery  to  the 
Prince.  But  the  unprincipled  Phrystia  easily 
silenced  her  menacing  tongue. 

Althea's  absent  lover  bore  a  striking 
resemblance  —  a  resemblance  which  was 
something  wonderful  —  to  the  unfortunate 
Dreamer,  with  whom  Starlight  had  been  con- 
victed of  holding  treasonable  council ;  and, 
with  her  ingenuity  to  conceive,  and  depravity 
to  execute,  it  would  be  no  difficult  matter  to 
shift  the  charge  upon  Erastus  —  and  the 
Senate,  before  her  eloquence,  seemed  to  be 
of  easy  faith.  All  this  Althea  knew  too  well, 
and  love  prevailed  over  conscience  and  resent- 
ment. 

Soon  afterward,  a  trusted  messenger 
hurried  breathlessly  in  to  announce  that  a 
lame  man,  much  like  Erastus,  was  seen  com- 
ing, travel -stained  and  weary,  in  the  v/ay 
which  led  from  the  hcstile  quarter  of  the 
island.  Althea  was  in  wild  excitement. 
Her  loving  heart  could  scarcely  contain 
itself,  in  its  longing  to  have  him  near  again  ; 
but  her  mind  still  entertained  misgivings  as 
to  his  safety,  for  she  hardly  dared  to  trust 


84  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

such    an    embodiment    of    faithlessness   as 
Phrystia  had  become. 

Her  anxiety  was  unnecessary,  however, 
for  so  long  as  unexposed,  the  sinful  Sister 
was  content  to  hold  her  peace. 

But  the  noble  nature  of  Erastus  —  it 
was  he  who  had  returned  —  scorned  the 
compromise  of  honor  by  a  silence  which  he 
deemed  as  guilty  as  the  deed,  and,  confident 
in  his  own  ability  and  the  power  of  right  over 
wrong,  he  persuaded  Althea  to  reveal  the 
imposture  to  her  father.  The  recent  blood- 
shed and  conflagration  had  been,  he  said,  a 
fearful  visitation  of  retributive  justice  upon 
a  land  which  the  Angel  of  Equity  had  fled, 
and  an  immediate  restoration  of  the  innocent 
Starlight  to  life  and  freedom  would  be  but  a 
small  reparation  of  the  grievous  errors. 

This  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when 
the  feast  of  Trapmenes  came  to  close  the 
past  and  open  the  succeeding  year.  Althea 
exposed  the  cowardly  treachery  to  her  father, 
and  the  horrified  Prince,  not  yet  too  blind  or 
unfeeling  to  perceive  what  an  irreparable 
crime  would  have  been  committed  in  the  exe- 
cution of   Starlight,    immediately   convoked 


THE   FALL    OF    UTOPIA.  85 

the  Senate  and  issued  the  proclamation  of 
her  release. 

When  the  news  of  Starlight's  established 
innocence  was  noised  about  the  island,  popu- 
lar fury  again  seemed  about  to  rise  —  indeed, 
did  rise,  and  amounted  to  violence  on  sev- 
eral occasions,  though  not  so  unrestrained  as 
on  the  day  of  her  intended  execution. 

The  spirit  of  passion  and  irritability 
seemed  to  have  permeated  all  Utopia.  Con- 
tentions and  disputes  became  more  frequent 
and  more  ungoverned.  The  seeds  of  disso- 
lution and  destruction  were  rapidly  sprouting 
in  the  heart  of  the  model  government.  The 
generous,  yet  resentful  Disputant  was  among 
the  sowers. 


Chapter  XIII. 


INCE  the  day  of  the  un- 
successful effort  to  lead 
Starlight  to  execution, 
the  streets,  the  markets, 
and  the  mess-halls  had 
all  become  the  scenes 
of  continued  wrangling. 
The  Disputant,  who  had 
defended  the  innocent 
maiden  before  the  Senate,  had  made  a  solemn 
oath  that  since  the  deafness  of  the  govern- 
ment to  all  appeals  of  reason  had  produced 
so  many  conflicts,  the  spirit  of  rivalry  and  dis- 
cord, easily  introduced  through  the  permis- 
sible medium  of  discussion,  when  once  aroused 
would  quickly  involve,  by  a  kindred  and  ever 
increasing  disaffection,  all  the  customs  and 
institutions  of  the  island  in  which  rivalry 
could  be  exercised.  Every  department  of  art, 
science  and  commerce  would  become  subjects 
of  dissension. 

The  revengeful  dream  of  the  Disputant 
86 


THE   FALL   OF    UTOPIA.  87 

achieved  a  woeful  realization.  Such  a  revo- 
lution, you  may  well  suppose,  required  behind 
it  a  mind  well  skilled  and  powerful.  The 
young  revolutionist's  discourses  were  models 
of  eloquence,  penetration  and  persuasion,  and 
not  Amaurot  alone,  but  all  Utopia,  was 
beneath  his  sway.  In  the  atttempts  to  emu- 
late  his  elegant  discussions,  disputation 
became  contagious.  No  intellect  was  so  low 
but  what,  catching  the  spirit  of  the  times,  it 
would  occasionally  attempt  a  flight. 

The  commonplaces  of  life  were  abstrusely 
speculated  upon.  Is  food  really  necessary,  or 
is  the  feeling  called  hunger  produced  by 
some  disorganization  of  the  system  ?  How 
do  the  clouds  retain  their  rain  .?  Why  is 
there  such  difference  in  the  density  of  differ- 
ent objects  ?  In  what  ratio  is  the  strength 
of  man  to  that  of  an  ant  ?  Such  were  the 
questions  in  the  discussion  of  which,  neglect- 
ing their  fields  and  orchards,  the  Utopians 
spent  days  together. 

"I  deny  that  I  am  !"  exclaimed  one,  in 

the  heat  of  argument,  and,  in  his  extremity, 

slew  himself   to    substantiate  his    assertion. 

A  carpenter  sat  in  his  doorway,  one  even- 


88  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

ing,  and,  contemplating  the  number  of  build- 
ings then  being  erected  to  replace  those 
burned  during  the  recent  disturbances,  fell  to 
soliloquizing : 

"  By  whom  were  all  these  building  rais- 
ed ?  Sure,  by  myself  and  my  fellows.  Were 
it  not  for  us,  there  would  be  no  roof  to  protect 
these  parasites  from  the  wind  and  rain,  and 
no  shield,  but  the  trees,  from  the  blazing  sun 
of  noon-day.  And  yet  we  are  no  better 
favored  than  other  men.  My  brother  car- 
penters shall  join  me,  and  we  will  make  these 
useless  fellows  to  appreciate  and  esteem  us 
more.  They  will  come  to  us  and  supplicate 
us,  and  we  will  refuse.  To  bring  us  to  relent, 
all  men  shall  flatter  and  honor  us.  We  shall 
become  distinguished  throughout  the  island. 
Only  under  condition  that  we  are  to  enjoy 
exceptional  privileges  and  immunities  will 
we  at  last  consent  to  return  to  our 
labors." 

He  succeeded  in  interesting  his  fellow 
carpenters  by  his  fallacious  arguments. 
Other  artisans  caught  the  infection,  and  dis- 
cord and  strife  resulted.  Following  upon  the 
desire  for  honor  and  preferment  quickly  came 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  89 

the  attempt  to  secure,  as  individual  property, 
a  more  material  wealth.  The  community  of 
goods  and  conjunction  of  labor  had,  virtually, 
already  fallen.  Gold  soon  came  to  have  a 
greater  value,  in  their  sight,  than  the  baser 
metals,  for  they  began  to  cast  their  eye 
towards  other  nations  where  moneys  were 
current. 

Deeper  questions  of  science  were  occa- 
sionally, and,  at  last,  frequently,  discussed  : 
Is  happiness  the  true  end  of  life  }  What  is 
the  nature  of  true  happiness  ?  What  is  ihe 
distinction  between  love  and  friendship  ? 
What  is  the  source  of  the  passions  ? 

Religious  principles  soon  became  a  mat- 
ter of  discussion,  and,  fired  with  fanaticism, 
the  wrangling  casuists  carried  the  fever  of 
debate  and  rivalry  to  its  highest  pitch.  The 
generous,  tolerant  spirit  which  had  so  long 
characterized  this  people  was  rapidly  passing 
away. 

Envy,  disregarding  all  ties  of  blood  and 
bond,  clasped  hands  with  Vengeance  in  the 
war  of  desolation.  Crime  rapidly  became 
common,  and  the  effects,  if  not  the  essential 
elements,  of  the  universal  malady  entering  the 


90  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

very  Senate  itself,  the  offenders  went  unpun- 
ished. 

From  the  sophistries  of  argument  it  was 
but  a  step  to  intrigue  and  chicanery,  and  the 
innocent  were  often  the  victims.  A  rivalry 
of  words  led  to  a  rivalry  in  display,  which 
naturally  engendered  a  taste  for  gaudy  dress 
and  ornament.  The  simple  costume  of  their 
ancestors,  as  old  as  their  history,  could  no 
longer  satisfy  the  people.  Extravagance  was 
a  natural  consequence. 

Individual  right  became  fully  recognized, 
and  gold  and  silver  were  circulated  as  money. 
Moderate  fortunes  were  often  expended  in 
the  beautifying  of  a  court  or  garden,  that  it 
might  outshine  that  of  a  neighbor.  Jewels 
and  precious  metals  were  used  extensively  in 
decorations,  and  Utopia — the  simple  Utopia- 
assumed  an  air  of  dazzling  luxuriance. 

The  consequences  of  this  revocation  of 
ancient  customs  and  institutions  require  no 
speculation.  There  must  now  be  a  change 
of  goverment. 

Monarchy  is  the  first  and  most  natural 
conception  of  government.  To  this  the 
Utopians  turned  their  minds,  and  soon  their 


THE  PALL  OF  UTOPIA.  QI 

efforts.  Ambition  had  kept  pace  with  disso- 
lution, and  in  the  imminence  of  the  approach- 
ing overthrow,  there  was  no  lack  of  aspirants 
to  the  throne.  All  eyes,  however,  naturally 
centered  upon  the  eloquent  Disputant,  who 
had  been  the  parent  of  the  revolution,  as 
most  capable  and  worthy  to  reign. 

The  wicked  are  never  at  loss  for  instru- 
ments. A  ready  hand  was  found.  The 
Prince  was  assassinated,  and  all  the  officers  of 
state  were  slain  on  the  same  night  while  in 
their  beds,  and  on  the  morrow  the  lamenta- 
tions of  their  relatives  and  few  remaining 
friends  were  drowned  by  the  acclamations 
of  the  people  in  elevating  the  Disputant  to 
the  throne. 

Revenged,  he  reigned. 

All  Utopia  applying  itself  to  the  labor,  a 
sumptuous  palace,  embellished  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  gold,  silver,  precious  stones  and 
fragrant  woods,  arose  in  the  heart  of  the  rev- 
olutionized city.  Its  massive  proportions 
towered  high  in  air,  a  monument  to  departed 
simplicity  and  peace.  Other  requisite  public 
buildings  were  successively  erected  on  a  pro- 
portionate scale  and  with  a  beauty  of  architec- 


92  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

ture  whose  introduction  among  such  a  people 
can  only  be  accounted  for  by  assuming  the 
association  of  foreign  elements,  the  glittering 
domes  and  dizzy  turrets  of  the  capital  city 
could  soon  be  seen  for  leagues  around. 
Dignitaries,  retainers,  and  all  subordinate 
officers  were,  in  turn,  appointed,  and  Utopia's 
ancient  government  was  sealed. 


/? 


Chapter  XIV. 

eVEN  the  vicious  condemn  vice ;  and 
gratified  ambition  despises  the  medi- 
ums of  its  emolument  ;  so  recognizing 
that  the  sojourn  of  Othiastes  among  a  for- 
eign nation,  whose  injustice  and  corruption 
had  contaminated  the  principles  of  his  youth, 
was  the  primitive  cause  of  the  treachery 
which  led  to  the  recent  strife  and  dissen- 
sions, and  culminated  in  the  establishment 
of  monarchy,  the  newly  confirmed  govern- 
ment, with  no  feelings  of  gratitude  or  indul- 
gence toward  the  means  of  its  institution, 
issued,  among  the  earliest  of  its  enactments, 
a  decree  prohibiting  the  entry  of  foreign 
vessels  into  its  ports. 

For  several  months  this  policy  had  been 
rigidly  enforced,  and  all  foreigners  were 
rigorously  excluded.  One  morning,  however, 
the  Chief  Guard  of  the  Port  was  notified  that 
a  vessel,  carrying  but  four  passengers  and  a 
scanty  crew,  had  arrived  outside  the  harbor 
of  Amaurot  and  an  audience  with  the  King 
93 


94  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

had  been  implored.  Being  refused  permis- 
sion to  land,  they  pleaded  the  unusual  circum- 
stances which  had  led  them  to. seek  a  refuge 
in  the  island,  and  begged  with  such  earnest- 
ness only  to  be  heard,  that  the  harbor  officers 
had  come  to  consult  their  superior,  who  has- 
tened to  inquire  into  the  extraordinary  affair. 
He  found  the  passengers  to  consist  of  an  Arab, 
a  Spaniard,  a  Syrian  Jew  and  a  Moorish 
maiden,  the  latter  of  astonishing  beauty. 

The  Chief  Guard  listened  attentively  to 
their  entreaties,  and  finally,  (whether  more 
persuaded  by  the  eloquence  of  their  appeals, 
or  the  brightness  of  the  young  girl's  eye )  he 
consented  to  present  them  to  the  King,  and 
allow  them  to  relate  their  stories. 

The  King  placed  implicit  confidence  in 
the  judgment  of  his  chief  port  officer,  and 
received  the  strangers  graciously.  Looking 
closely  into  their  countenances,  as  they 
stood  before  him  in  the  gorgeous  throne 
room,  he  noticed  that,  without  an  exception, 
they  had  a  haggard,  careworn  look.  The 
beauty  of  the  maiden,  heightened  by  the 
piteousness  of  her  visage,  claimed  several 
moments  of  his  attention  ;  but  finally  he  bade 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  95 

them  relate  their  extraordmary  stories,  which, 
they  had  claimed,  would  obtain  an  exception 
in  their  favor  of  the  interdiction  of  strangers, 
and  secure  them  a  haven  of  rest. 

Much  to  the  regret  of  the  King,  who 
secretly  desired  that  the  maiden  should  first 
begin,  the  Syrian  Jew  stepped  forward,  and, 
to  the  accompaniment  of  a  small  cithern  of 
exquisite  tone  which  he  held  in  his  hand, 
began  to  chant  —  in  a  peculiarly  mournful 
measure  of  the  Utopians,  which  in  some  man- 
ner he  had  learned  —  the  misfortunate  story 
of  his  life. 

So  pleased  was  the  King  with  this,  that 
at  the  end  of  the  first  strain  he  expressed  his 
desire  that  all  should  retire  to  his  private 
garden,  and  there,  in  a  scene  of  indescribable 
luxuriance  and  deliciousness,  musical  with 
birds  and  flowing  fountains,  the  singer  began 
again. 

¥   ¥   ¥ 

THE  SYRIAN'S  LAflENT. 

Where  the  rose,  intertwining  with  the  thornless  lotus, 

grows, 
And  the  dews  which  the  gentle   winds  of  Paradise 

diffuse, 


96  THE   FALL   OF   UTOPIA. 

Sparkling  bright,  glad  the  dwellers  in  that  Garden  of 

Delight ; 
Where,    in  streams  gently  flowing,    a   reflected  city 

gleams 
Which   outvies  all  the  glories  of  great  Solomon  the 

Wise, 
She,  the  pure,  who  a  mortal,  was  too  spotless  to  endure, 

Too  divine,  too  seraphic  to  assort  with  hearts  like 

mine. 
Is  restored,   a  pardoned  exile,  to  the  kingdom  of  her 

Lord  ! 
As  the  rills,  freshlv  flowing  from  a  thousand  cooling 

hills ; 
As  the   wine,    dropping   sweetly   from    the  blushing 

autumn  vine  ; 
As  the  grove  to  the  Bedouins  that  o'er  the  desert  rove ; 

So  to  me,  though  unworthy  even  a  smile  from  such  as 

she. 
Was  the  voice  which  so  often  made  my  happy  heart 

rejoice. 
And  the  glow  which  upon  my  heart  her  love-lit  eyes 

would  throw. 
But   alas  !  well    the   patriarchs  declared   our  joys    as 

grass, 
Summer  reigns  —  parching  summer  !  and  throughout 

the  arid  plains 
Does  not  swell  a  single  fountain  for  the  famishing 

gazelle  ! 
Worm  and   blight  have    eradicated  in  the  grower's 

sight 
Every  vine  which  his  tender  care  had  loved  to  prune 

and  twine. 
And  the  palms,   now   abandoned  for    the  simoom's 

sandy  storms. 
Only  rise  tantalizingly  to  cheat  the  fancying  eyes. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  97 

Sorrow  stole  the  *Mezuzah  from  the  door-post  of  my 

soul. 
And  alas  !  now  unexorcised  the  demons  freely  pass. 

Far  away,  near  the  palace  of  the  rising  King  of  Day, 
In  a  vale  ever  tuneful  with  the  dove  and  nightingale, 
Green  and  fair,  with  ihe  yellow  olive  nodding  every- 
where. 
And  the  date,  over-ripened,  scarce  the  harvesting  can 

wait, 
Where  the  cheek  of  the  li!y  grows  a  shade  more  palely 

meek. 
And  the  flocks  feed  unharmed  beyond  the  range  of 

wolf  or  fox. 
There  while  yet  life  was  youthful,    and  these  eyelids 

were  unwet, 
fDecrito  !  thy  emollient  lore   I   first  began  to  know. 
She  who  claimed  first  my  demon  rage,  (whatever  else 

misnamed  ! ) 
O'er  me  came  like  the  incense  from  a  sacrificial  flame. 
She  was  fair  :  queenly  Esther  with  her  charms  could 

not  compare. 
In  her   smile   there   was  rapture,   and  her  laughter 

could  beguile 
From  their  sphere  heavenly  spirits,  if  they  only  paused 

to  hear. 
She  was   fair ;  I    was   tender ;  all  is  comprehended 

there  ! 
Hand    in    hand,    with  an  innocence  untutored    and 

unbanned, 


We  would  stray  where  the  sunlight  with  the  waters 
loved  to  play, 

*A  parchment,  inscribed  with  verses  from thePentateuch, enclosed 
in  a  small  cylinder,  and  attached,  as  a  kind  of  sacred  talisman,  to  the 
post  of  the  door.  fThe  Syrian  Venus, 


98  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

And,  reclined  on  the  mossy  banks,  the  fragrant  gar- 
lands twined ; 

While  above  mating  turtles  cooed  their  overflowing 
love, 

And  the  drone  of  the  bees:  the  cicala's  dreamy  tone, 

As  they  rose  o'er  the  fields,  lulled  the  spirit  to  repose. 

Heaven  smiled  as  it  smileth  only  on  a  careless  child. 

Then,  in  turn,  youth  stole  on,  but  our  passions  did  not 

burn 
Less  intense,  less  exclusive  than  in  childish  innocence. 
We  perhaps  tied  more  carefully  the  sandal's  leathern 

straps 
And  would  bring  tidier  pitchers  in  the  evening  to  the 

spring. 
Should  the  air  in  the  wimples  of  her  broidered  *tsaif 

dare 
To  intrude  and,  becoming,  for  the  moment  over-rude, 
With     its    breath    even     reveal    her    snowy    linen 

f  ct  thoneth 
Which  no  more  was  the  only,  but  sufficient,  robe  she 

wore, 
To  her  cheek  would  come  the  blushes   which,    if  but 

empowered  to  speak, 
Would  have  chid  the  bold  zephyr  for  the  mischief 

that  it  did. 
Gentle  eyes,  now  caught  stealing,  turned  away  in  soft 

surprise, 
And  withal,  graver  feelings  our  spirits  seemed  to  fall ; 
But,  at  heart,  well  we  recognized  behind  the  modest 

start 
And  the  care  years  engendered  that  our  habits  be 

more  fair, 
All  the  sweet,  trusting  confidence  with  which  we  used 

to  meet. 

*"  A  light  summer  dress  of  handsome  appearance"  —  Smith,  Dic- 
tionary of  Antiquities,  etc.  t"  Inner  garment "  —  Ibid. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 


99 


O  the  days  of  our  youth,  when  the  melancholy  haze 
Of  concern  for  the  future  and  the  lessons  yet  to  learn, 
Softly  shades  the  intensity  of  glitter  which  pervades 
Early  dreams  till  with  moderated  gentleness  it  beams  ! 
Then  the  heart,  with  the   tenderness   that   soberer 

thoughts  impart, 
Learns  to  glow  with  a  feeling  which  no  laughing  love 

can  know. 

Now  at  last,  when  the  season  of  our  youthfulness  had 
passed, 

Came  the  song  whose  sweet  prelude  had  enchanted  us 

so  long  ; 
And  the  sun  which,  in  rising,  we  had  thus  far  gazed 

upon. 

And  admired,   as  with  brilliancy  the  east  he  flushed 

and  fired. 
Slowly  rose  in  its  majesty  until,  in  calm  repose, 
With   the  dreams  which,  like  Jacob's,  see  a   heaven 

through  their  beams, 
Slept  the  soul  in  sweet  langor,  neath  that  ardent  sun's 

control. 
O  how  sweet  is  affection  where  both  love  and  judg- 
ment meet ! 
And,    as   time   can  alone   establish  this  harmonious 

chime 
How    divine    is    the   passion   when   maturer   hearts 

entwine  ! 
When  at  last  chilly  ^Kislev  has,  with  every  wintry 

blast,  ^  ^ 

Past  away,  and  again  we  feel  the  Iflyar  zephyrs  play, 
We  behold  with  delight  the  tender  vernal  buds  unfold, 
Till  the  green  of  the  mountains  and  the  vales  that 

intervene 
Has  replaced  with  luxuriance  the  unvegetatin?  waste : 

^December.  UMay. 


lOO  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

But,  before  we  can  garner  in  the  autumn's  perfect 

store, 
We  must  wait  till  the  summer,  more  ensobered  and 

sedate, 
Shall  transmute,  with  its  balmy  breath,  the  flower  into 

fruit. 
So  we  dwelled  in  the  valley  with  our  peaceful  breasts 

unswelled 
By  one   dark  apprehension  of  the  treacheries    that 

mark 
Those  who  dwell  in  the  splendor  of  the  populated 

swell. 
And  the  years  of  our  life,  with  no  tutelage  of  tears. 

Sped  along  in  simplicity  of  love,  and  as  the  song 

Murmurs  back  when  the  wavelets  break  on  pebbles  in 
their  track, 

They  expired  with  such  melodies  as  Israel's  harpers 
wired. 

Well  we  knew  that  our  bosoms  burned  with  love  sin- 
cere and  true. 

So  pursued  our  devotions  with  no  moody  interlude. 

Even  as  when,  lighting  thirsty,  at  the  fountain  in  the 
glen, 

As  'tis  said,  the  drinking  *Yonah  does  not  pause  to 
lift  her  head. 

So  we  drank  at  the  fount  of  mutual  love  whose  frag- 
rant bank 

And  cool  draught  lapped  the  spirit  in  such  bliss  till,  as 
it  quaffed, 

Unconcerned  for  all  else,  it  to  the  present,  only, 
turned. 

True  the  sea  waits  all  waters,  but  the  brook  flows  on 
as  free ; 

*"Ils  [turtle-doves,  Heb.  Yonah]  maugentetboiventde  meme  sans 
rele%'er  la  tete  qu'apres  avoir  avale  toute  I'eauqui  leur  est  necessaire." — 
Buffon,  Hist.  Nat. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  101 

And   the   streams   of    affection  with,    at    most,    but 

vaguest  gleams 
Of  their  end,  passed  away,  regardless  whither  they 

might  tend. 
Closer  ties   than  had  bound  us  when,   beneath   our 

youthful  skies, 
With  no  thought  of  the  future,  we  rejoiced,  were  still 

unsought. 

0  dead  years  of  that  youth  !  how  I  bathe  thee  now 

with  tears  ! 
From  the  height  of  the  Tabor  of  my  days  enraptured 

sight 
Looks  below   on   the    fjezreel  of   the   past,    whose 

flowers  blow 
On  its  plain  in  profusion  midst  the  fields   of  waving 

grain, 
And  my  heart,  overcome  with   all  the  memories  that 

start, 
Bursts  in  tears  worse  than  wormwood  that  to  those 

delightful  years 
Should  succeed  JEdom's  desert  —  even  blasted  of  the 

weed ! 

But  away  with  such  brooding  thoughts  !  —  ah  !  that 

the  mystic  clay 
From  the  field  of  IfAceldema  made  retrospection  yield 

To  decay  when  the  spirit  of  affection  flits  away  !  — 

Well,  at  last  —  let  me  hasten,  for  the  tears  are  falling 
fast !  — 

1  perceived   that   the    spirit   of   my   loved  one  inly 

grieved. 

fThe  fertility  of  this  plain,  at  the  foot  of  RIt.  Tabor,  is  proverbial  ; 
see  Milman's  Jews,  B.  v. 

J*'Edom,  with  slight  exceptions,  is  blasted  with  cheerless  desolation 
and  hopeless  sterility."    din's  Travels  in  the  East. 

1T"To  the  earth  of  this  cemetery  [Aceldema,  or  Potter's  Field]  has 
been  ascribed  a  peculiar,  if  not  miraculous,  efficacy  in  hastening  the 
decomposition  of  dead  bodies." — Ibid. 


102  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

Day  by  day  I  discovered  —  with  what  anguish  who 

can  say  !  — 
More  and  more,  that  the  canker  ate  in  silence  at  the 

core, 
And  distressed  unendurably,  when  finally  I   pressed 

Her  to  trust  in  my  love,  still  burning  as  it  ever  must. 

And  reveal  the  cause  of  sorrows  she  no  longer  could 

conceal. 
She,  with  eyes  brimming  over,  said  between  her  sobs 

and  sighs 
That  in  spite  of  my  faithful  love,  which  only  served  to 

smite 
Her  own  soul  for  its  thanklessness,  inconstant  to  its 

pole, 
Just  as  grows  less  and  less  the  Jordan's  volume  as  it 

*flows, 
Her  esteem  had  at  last  become  a  more  contracted 

stream. 
Still  she  felt  that  her  heart  could  for  no  other  ever 

melt ; 
That  sincere  I  had  proven,  and  that  all  which  could 

endear 
Still  was  mine,  but  that  passion,  once  determined  to 

decline. 
Laughed  to  scorn  all  sophistical  endeavors  to  suborn 
Its  caprice  into  constancy,  and  rather  would  increase 
In  distaste  for  the  graces  it  so  fondly  once  embraced. 
Ah  !  how  deep  was  my  agony  !  the  spirit  could  not 

weep; 
Or  if  wept,  all  the  fountains  of  its  Marah  tear-drops 

swept 
Back  again  o'er  their  source,  until  congealed  to  silent 

pain. 


*''  Neither  [of  the  mountains]  affords  any  important  tributaries  to 
the  Jordan,  which  probably  enters  tlie  Dead  Sea  with  a  smaller  volume 
of  water  than  it  receives  from  the  Sea  of  Tiberias." — Ibid. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  IO3 

Like  the  fleece  by  the  f  Warrior  spread,  where  once  the 

dews  of  peace 
Seemed  alone  to  have  fallen,  aow  while  all  the  world 

had  grown. 
To  my  eye,  fresh  and  sparkling,  there  alone  'twas 

parched  and  dry  ! 
Once  revealed,  the  diagnostic,  which  should  be   no 

more  concealed, 
Daily  grew  more  confirmed,  and,  as  despair  is  wont 

to  do. 
Every  glance,  less  elated  than  it  might  have  been, 

perchance, 
Now   recalled,  was  attributed  to   passion   that  had 

palled. 
Ah !  to   find  that  the  JOkser  is  but  air  beneath  the 

rind  ! 
Colder   still   grew   her   passion !  But   the  ^antelope 

mounts  the  hill 
With  a  spring  lighter  yet  than  down  the  Valley  of  the 

II  King, 
And  there  flows  in  the  heart  the  strongest  tides  when 

we  oppose. 
So,  intense  in  its  terror,  each  reanimated  sense 
Wildly  pled  restoration  of  the  golden  hours  fled. 
As  serene  as  the  current  which,  with  motion  scarcely 

seen, 
Softly    flows    through    Genneseret,    is    affection  in 

repose ; 
But  it  grows,  when  the  streamlets  from  the  Hermon 

of  our  woes, 

jGideon  :  vide  Judges  VI,  37-40. 

tXhe  Sodom  apples  of  Josephus  (Wars,  B  IV,  Chap.  VIII,  Sec. 
IV)  are  identified  by  Dr.  Robinson  (Researches)  with  a  fruit  called  the 
Okser,  "  which  resembles  an  orange,  and  grows  in  clusters,  is  filled 
with  air,  and  explodes  when  pressed." 

TT"  Leur  jambes  de  devant  sont  moins  longues  que  celles  de  derriere, 
ce  qui  lenr  donne  plus  de  factlite  pour  courir  en  montant  qu'en  dcscen- 
ant.  —  Buffon,  Hist.  Nat. 

I  [Unidentified  in  modern  topography, 


I04  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

With  the  chill  of  inconstancy,  its  banks  begin  to  fill, 
To   the   wild,    rushing  torrent,    unencumbered    and 

unisled, 
Which  descends  through  the  §Arabah  of  life,  until  it 

ends, 
Murkily,  at  the  last,  in  the  Dead  Sea,  Apathy. 
And,  so  strong  it  had  grown,  that  its  endeavors  to 

prolong 
The  regard  which  was  waning,  met  awhile  with  rich 

reward. 
Once  again,  like  the  verdure  when  it  feels  the  Latter 

Rain, 
Hope  revived  at  the  smile  of  which  it  long  had  been 

deprived. 
And  discerned  in  her  glances  something  of  the  light 

that  burned 
In  her   deep,   lustrous   eyes,  before,  in  shame,    they 

learned  to  weep. 

But   ah !  woe :  soon    the    melodies    of    hope  which 

charmed  me  so, 
With   a  fire  of  expression  such  as,  when  the  mighty 

fchoir 
On    Moriah,    consecratingly    according   tongue    and 

wire, 
Woke  the  loud  J"  Jehovah  reigneth  !  "  from  the  valley 

to  the  cloud. 
Died  away  in  my  heart  until  the  cold,  imperious  sway 
Of  the  wild  desolation  of  those  ^regions  unbeguiled, 
As  they  say,  by  a  sound  but  of  the  shrieking  birds  of 
prey, 

§The  Jordan  Valley. 

tSolomon  employed  "  4000  as  singers  and  musicians  "  at  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  temple.  — Milman. 

JThe  XCVII  Psalm,  beginning  "  The  Lord  reigneth  !  "  was 
chanted  at  the  dedication  of  the  Temple, 

HThe  silence  and  solitude  of  Lebanon  is  said  to  be  broken  only  by 
the  howl  of  wild  beasts  and  the  scream  of  the  eagle. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I05 

Had    assumed    its    dominion  on  a  throne   of  peace 

entombed. 
I  again  saw  that  passion  had  begun  to  slowly  wane, 
And  as  though  to  refuse  me  even  pity  for  my  woe, 
Did  not  now  seem  to  sorrow  that  it  soon  must  disavow 
Any  part  in  the  feehng  which  no  longer  swelled  each 

heart. 
If  before   I   had  suffered  what  was  now  the  grief  I 

bore! 
In  dismay   I  beheld  her  growing  colder  day  by  day. 
Knowing  not  what  expedient  to  use  upon  my  lot. 
If,  as  sleeps  the  fearless  ||goat  upon  the  mountain's 

craggy  steeps 
Hearts  could  grow  all  insensible  to  their  surrounding 

woe. 
Blest   indeed   were    the    luckless   one   estrangement 

dooms  to  bleed  ! 
She,  'tis  true,  had  not  yet  become  so   hardened  as  to 

view 
My  distress  with  indifference,  and  the  look  of  tender- 
ness 
Often  lold  that  her  pity  had  not  grown  entirely  cold ; 
So  at  last  with  much  sympathy  into  her  firmness  cast, 
Threw   aside   all  the  tacit  ties  with   which   we   were 

allied : 

"  It   must   be  !  time   has   written   the  unchangeable 

decree. 
We  no  more  can  resuscitate  the  simple  love  of  yore, 
And,   the  heart  growing   colder,    it   is   time  that  we 

should  part. 
Once,  'tis  true,  when  affection  was  as  yet  unlearned 

and  new, 
I  admired,  loved,  adored  thee,  only  as  a  heart  inspired 

||-'  Elle  aime  a  s'ecarter  dans  les  solitudes,  et  grimper  sur  les  lieux 
escarpc,  a  se  placer  et  meme  a  dormir  sur  la  pointe  des  roches  €t  sur 
le  bord  des  precipices."  —  Buffon,  Hist.  Nat. 


Io6  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

With  the  fire  of   first   passion  can  adore,  love  and 

admire. 
It  was  sweet  to  my  girlish  heart  to  have  thee  softly 

greet 
When  I  came,  and,  at  parting,  breathe  a  blessing  on 

my  name, 
Or  to  stroll  with  thee  by  me  as  the  heaven's  starry 

roll 
First  began  to  illuminate   the  widely  arching  span, 
But,  in  truth,  'twas  a  passion  with  no  thought  beyond 

my  youth. 
As  the  §roe,  when  the  waking  winds  of  Spring  begin 

to  blow 
And  throughout  all  the  forest  tender  buds  begin  to 

sprout. 
Turns  to  browse  here  and  there  upon  the  tender,  lus- 
cious boughs, 
Till    at    last,   inebriated   by   the    succulent    repast. 
He  has  strayed  from  the  fastness  of  his  native  tangled 

shade, 
And  is  caught  in  unconsciousness ;  so,  with  no  further 

thought 
Than  to  feed  on  the  pleasures  that  environed  me,  nor 

heed 
Where  my  feet  chanced   to   wander,    I   was  led  from 

sweet  to  sweet. 
Till  at  last,  when  awakened  from  the  stupor  of  the 

past. 
In   surprise,  I    discovered   that   already  closest  ties, 
Unavowed,  it  is  true,  and  yet  for  that  no  less  allowed, 
Our  hearts  twined  with  an  earnestness  which  neither 

had  designed. 

§"  Au  pintemps,  ils  vont  dans  les  taillis  plus  clairs,  et  broutent  les 
boutons  et  les  feuilles  naissantes  de  tous  les  arbres.  Cette  nourriture 
chaude  fermente  dans  leur  estomacs  et  les  enivre  de  mauiere  qu'il  est 
tres-aise  alors  de  les  surprendre  :  ils  ne  savent  ou  ils  vont,  ils  sortent 
memc  assez  souvent  hors  du,  bois,  et  quelquefois  ils  approchent  du 
bctail  et  des  endroits  habites."— Histoire  Naturelk. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I07 

Well,  while  still  I  esteemed  thee,  and  believed  none 

else  could  fill 
Half  so  well  my  ideal,  yet  my  spirit  would  rebel 

At  the  thought  of  a  bondage  undesired  and  unsought. 

For,    though    hatched  to    captivity,  the  §Kore  feels 

attached 
To  the  skies  and  the  meadows,  and  soon  pines  away 

and  dies. 
Love  declined,  and  more  gallingly  the  ties  began  to 

bind. 
Till,    constrained  by   my    anguish,  I    resolved  to  be 

unchained. 
Still  our  years  of  affection,  and  regret  to  cause  thee 

tears 
Made  me  halt  in  my  purpose,  and,  despite  its  bold 

revolt, 
My  heart  grieved  that  no  better  end  could  ever  be 

achieved. 
Then,  when,  pressed  by  thy  eagerness,  my  purpose  I 

confessed. 
You   implored    with   such   piteousness   to    be    again 

restored 
To  my  heart  as  in  other  days,  my  nature's  tenderer 

part 
For  the  while  dominating,  I  consented  to  beguile 

Into  peace  my   misgivings;  but  alas!  they  will  not 

cease ! 
Love,  constrained,    turns   to   loathing,   and,  while  yet 

'tis  unprofaned. 
It  is  best  that  the  tie,  no  longer  dear,  be  dispossessed. 

So  farewell !  —  the  "  forever  "  makes  my  bosom  some- 
what swell, 

§The  little  partridges  [Heb.  Kore.]  says  the  French  naturalist,  "qui 
sont  enclos  dans  les  faisanderies,  et  qui  n'ont  jamais  connu  la  hberie, 
languissent  dans  cette  prison,  qu'on  cherche  aleur  rendre  agreable  de 
toutes  manieres,  et  meurent  bientot  d'ennui." 


Io8  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

But,  assured  that  thus  only  peace  can  ever  be  secured, 
I  must  dwell  in  the  past  no  more,  and  so  a  lon^  fare- 
well! 
Thou  art  blest  with  such  graces  as   will    charm    the 

coldest  breast  ; 
Heart  and  mind  bright  and  noble  and  harmoniously 

combined. 
Thou  shalt  claim  lordly  favors,  mighty  men  exalt  thy 

name, 
And  shalt  find  in   thy   wanderings  one  whose  soul  is 

more  designed 
In  its  tone  to  assimilate  completely  with"  thine  own. 
As  the  crow  at  the  north  assumes  a  plumage  white  as 

fsnow, 
And  we  see  all  the  changes  of   the  sky  in    Galilee, 
So,  awhile,  and  thou,  too,  shalt  with  the  smiling  learn 

to  smile. 
Let  who  will,  controvert  it,  yet  this  truth   is   truthful 

still  ; 
Woman's  scorn,  like  the  tamarisk,  drops  manna  from 

its  *thorn. 
Search   it  out,  and,  delivered  from  the  envy  and  the 

doubt. 
There  shall  dweli  gazelle-eyed  Peace  with  thee  —  and 

now  my  last  farewell !  " 
She  was  gone !  How  I  sickened  when  I  found  myself 

alone  ! 
Midnight's   shroud    wrapt    creation,    and    my   spirit 

sighed  aloud  : 

<'Ah  !  shall  I,  like  the  bird  of  f Paradise,  forever  fly! 

jThe  crow,  \vh<ch  is  found,  says  the  same  excellent  authority,  from 
the  polar  circle  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  is  subject,  more  or  less 
to  the  influences  of  climate,  est  quelquefois  blanc  en  Nonvege  et  en 
Islande. 

*The  manna  has  been  ascertained,  by  Burchhardt  and  others,  to 
be  a  natural  production,  which  "distils  from  the  thorns  of  the  tamarisk 
in  the  month  of  June."  fAn  ancient  fable  regarding  this  bird. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  1 09 

Sorely  pressed  with  its  anguisli,  shall  affection  find  no 

rest, 
Lest  it  bring,  like  the  ^swallow,  when  it  folds  its  fatal 

wing, 
Withering  blight  to    the  verdant  bough  whereon  it 

dares  to  light, 
Till,   at  last,  love,  unsheltered  is  abandoned  to   the 

blast  ! 
Why  should  hearts  ever  waken  since    so  surely  love 

imparts 
Such  distress,    darkly   lurking   in    each    treacherous 

caress  ! 
I  must  bear  in  a  breast  so  lately  freed  from  every  care, 
Ills     whose     source    neither    Ifmandrakes    nor    the 

||Zockum  can  divorce. 
Gracious  Guide   of  my  fathers  !  Thou  whose  mercies 

didst  abide 
With  the  seed  of  thy  patriarchs,  from  Egypt's  bondage 

freed  ! 
Thou  whose  wing  didst  protect  them  when  in  Babel 

none  could  §sing, 
And  whose  hand  led  them  back    again  to   Canaan's 

smiling  land  ! 
Lead,  O  lead  me,  I  pray  thee  !  for  my  broken  heart- 
strings bleed, 
And  unblest  is  the  yearning  of  this  soul  to  be  at  rest ! 
As  the  note  of  the  soaring  lark  is  often  heard  to  float 
From  the  sky  when  the  singer  has  long  melted  from 

the  **eye, 

X"  On  a  remarque  les  branches  qu'elles  adoptent  pour  y  passer  ainsi 
la  nuit  meurent  et  se  dessichenl." — Buffon,  Hist.  Nat. 

IT"  Supposed  among  Eastern  women  to  act  as  a  love  philtre." — ■ 
Milman's  Jews,  B  II. 

II Another  thorny  tree,  called  the  Zockum,  bears  a  fruit  from  which 
the  natives  extract  an  oil  reputed  to  possess  valuable  medicinal  proper- 
ties. The  pilgrims  seek  for  it  with  great  avidity  " — Olin,  Travels  in  the 
East,  C  V  I.  §Psalm  CXXXVII.  ' 

**"  She  [I'alouette]  is  of  the  small  number  of  birds  which  sing  on 
the  wing  ;  the  higher  she  flies,  the  more  she  strains  her  voice,  and  often 
it  is  forced  to  such  a  point  that,  though  floating  high  in  air,  and  lost  to 
view,  she  may  still  be  disiinctly  heard."— Histoire  Naturelle. 


no  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

So  the  soDgs  of  my  happier  days,  which  memory  pro- 
longs, 

Sweet  and  clear,  echo  still  in  my  infatuated  ear, 

But  despair  for  the  future  strikes  its  sad  discordant  air, 

And  destroys  all  the  melody  of  recollected  joys. 

Till,  at  last  like  the  warning  §voice  through  Salem's 
streets  that  passed, 

"  Woe !  and  woe  !  "  becomes  the  burden  of  the  inhar- 
monious flow. 

It  is  well,  when  responsively  the  breast  has  ceased  to 
swell, 

To  commend  new    asylums  for  the  spirit  we  offend, 

But  alas  !  like  the  fEzrach  or  the  flags  of  the  morass. 

True  love  dies  when  transplanted  from  its  native  soil 
and  skies. 

Thus  for  days,  with  that  anguish  which  no  human 
power  allays, 

I  bemoaned  the  sad  fortune  of  a  feeling  heart 
dethroned, 

Till,  constrained  to  abandon  scenes  where  nothing 
now  remained 

But  the  ghost  which  in  mockery  recalled  the  sub- 
stance lost, 

I  withdrew  from  sweet  Syria  in  some  doubtful  hope 
to  woo 

Into  rest  the  disquiet  of  my  wild,  chaotic  breast. 

As  the  main  bore  me  onward,  watching  Acca's  flowery 
plain 

And  the  steep  brow  of  Carmel  slowly  sank  into  the 
deep, 

Thus   the   long   silent  heart    awoke   its    melancholy 

§"  All  the  four  years  that  intervened  before  the  war,  he  [Jesus,  son 
of Aramus]  never  spoke,  excepting  the  same  words,  "Woe,  woe  to 
Jerusalem  ?"  He  never  cursed  any  one  who  struck  him,  nor  thanked 
any  one  who  gave  him  food.  His  only  answer  was  the  same  melan- 
choly presage.  At  length  during  the  siege  he  suddenly  cried  out, 
"  Woe,  woe  to  myself  !"  and  was  struck  dead  by  a  stone."— Milman's 
JewsBXni. 

f '  Most  of  the  Jewish  doctors  understand  by  the  term  Ezrach,  a  tree 
which  grows  in  its  own  soil,"  [Smith]     The  bay  tree  of  Pt.  XXXVII,  33. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  Ill 

SONQ. 

Where  sweet  oleanders  caressingly  meet 

Their  pink  imaged  selves  on  the  JNaman's  cool 

brink, 
And  drink  the  clear  drops  till  their  dewy  heads 
sink, 
Replete,  on  their  stalks,  like  the  top-heavy  wheat ; 

Where     wide     o'er     the    meadows    through    which 
^Kishon's  tide 
Descends  to  the  Great  Sea,  the  iJRimmon  grove 

bends 
And  blends  fruit  and  flower  in  such  beauty  as 
lends 
New  pride  to  the  murmuring  waves  as  they  glide ; 

There  still,  with  a  heart's  uncontrolable  thrill, 
I  see  the  fair  land  love  has  made  me  to  flee ; 
And  free,  fading  Syria  !  my  griefs  flow  for  thee, 

Until  all  the  fountains  of  tears  they  unfil ! 

Ah  !  there,  where,  as  yet  unacquainted  with  care, 
I  first  felt  the  passion  which  jealously  nurst, 
So   curst   me  with   hopes   which    at  last  were 
reversed 

I  dare  not  remain  and  can  never  repair  ! 

Then   swell,    mighty  waters !  My  country,  farewell ! 

Though  wild  are  the  waves,  yet  the  heart  thus 
exiled 

Deems  mild  all  their  rage  to  affection  reviled  ! 
Impel !  —  where,  I  care  not,  but  lingering  is  hell ! 

JThe  river  Belus,  which  flows  into  the  Mediterranean  at  Port  Acca. 
ITThe  historic  rirer  at  the  foot  of  Mt.  Carm«l;     ||Poinegranate. 


112  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

Swift  the  keel  of  my  vessel,  with  a  welcome  rush  and 

reel, 
Split  each  wave  with  an  energy  invincible  and  brave. 
Mountain  high  rolled  the  billows,  and,  now  swelling 

to  the  sky, 
Now  again  all  but  buried,  on  we  sped  across  the  main. 
Wild  delight !    how  my  restless  soul  exulted  at  the 

sight ! 
Blow  and  blow,  O  thou  tempest !  hurl  thy  mightiest 

powers  below  ! 
Howl  and  howl  in  thy  fury  !  let  the  ocean  demons 

growl ! 
For  each  blast  bears  me  onward  from  my  home  and 

from  the  past. 

Time  forbids  grief  to  linger  to  enlarge  its  pyramids ; 

In  this  tale  of  existence  woe  enough  must  needs  pre- 
vail, 

So  I  haste  o'er  the  wanderings  wherein  peace  I  vainly 
chased. 

In  the  far  gelid  land  beneath  the  seaman's  guiding 
star. 

Where  the  snow  never  melteth  and  the  winds  of  win- 
ter blow, 

There,  in  vain,  sought  I  respite  from  an  unforgetting 
pain; 

For  the  snow  could  not  smother  all  the  smouldering 
flres  of  woe. 

Nor  the  chill  breath  of  winter  freeze  the  inward  tear- 
founts  still. 

Then,  where  mild  blew  the  zephyrs  till  the  hills  and 
valleys  smiled 

With  their  dowers  of  the  vintage  and  the  sun-enam- 
oured flowers ; 

Where  extremes  never  entered,  and  the  crystal  moun- 
tain streams 

Glassed  the  dies  of  the  fairest  of  creation's  liquid  skies, 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 


113 


And  the  fields,  soft  and  fertile,  were  untortured  for 

their  yields  — 
There  again,  alleviation  sorrow  courted  —  but  in  vain  ! 
Smiling  skies  could  not  animate  my  pensive,  tearful 

eyes, 
Temperate   gales    temper    anguish,  nor  the   perfume 

which  exhales 
From  sweet  vales  breathe  its  influence  o'er  the  heart's 

distracted  wails. 
Still  oppressed  with  remembrance  and  the  wildness  of 

unrest, 
Next  I  fled  to  the  circle  wherein  torridly  is  shed 

From  the  low-drooping  pinions  of  the  sun  a  drowsy 

glow 
Which  enwraps  every  sense  till  into  stupor  all  relapse; 

There   beside   lazy   rivers    which    in  dreamy  silence 

glide 
Through  the  brake  and  the  forest,  brightly  plumaged 

birds  awake 
Thrilling  hymns  to  the  morning  from  the  intertwining 

limbs ; 
But  even  there  solace  mocked  me,  for  the  tropic's  fiery 

glare. 
Or  the  deep  forest's  music,  could  not  lull  my  cares  to 

sleep. 
Every  land,    every    cilme,    by    every    gale  or  zephyr 

fanned. 
Every  main,  in  my  anguish,  thus  I   compassed but 

in  vain  ! 
In  the  throng  of  the  gayest  now  I   mingled,  but  the 

song 
Quickly    grew    more    repulsive    than    the    brooding 

thoughts  I  flew. 
And  the  pain  relegated  me  to  solitude  again, 

I  could  smile,  but  my  heart  remained  in  anguish  all 
the  while, 


114  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

Like  the  §trees  which  on  Olivet  the  wondering  traveler 

sees, 
Flower  and  fruit  still  might  flourish,  but  decay  was  at 

the  loot  — 
Then,  returned  to  the  quiet  for  whose  rest  so  much  I 

yearned, 
Thought  pursued  till  again  I  fled  the  haunted  solitude. 

Well,  at  length  fruitless  wanderings  having  well-nigh 

spent  my  strength, 
And,  o'ercome  with  the  yearning  for  my  long- forsaken 

home, 
I  returned  with  the  restlessness  of  soul  which  in  me 

burned. 
To  the  land  where  my  budding  heart  had  learned  to 

first  expand. 

As  I   neared   the  fertile  valley  which  affection  had 

endeared, 
How  my  heart,  spite  of  sorrows  which  I  knew  it  must 

impart 
Thus  to  meet  my  deplored  one,  in  anticipation  beat ! 

Every  face  with  a  contour  of  a  more   than  common 

grace, 
Every  form  which  into  beauty  quicker  pulses  seemed 

to  warm, 
Passing  by,  made  me  start,  and  look  with  anxious, 

searching  eye. 
When,  at  last,  from  the  summit  of  its  guardian  hills, 

I  cast 
Far  below  my  enraptured  eye,  and,  in  the  golden  glow 
Of  the  soft,  evening   glory-tints  reflected  from  aloft. 

§"  The  trunks  of  a  number  of  them  (Olives)  have  decayed  to  the 
extent  of  several  feet  above  the  root  with  which  the  branches  are  con- 
nected only  by  some  thin,  dry  splinters,  coated  on  the  outer  surface  with 
the  bark.  Higher  up  the  trunks  became  solid,  and  the  branches  appear 
healthful  and  vigorous."— Travels  in  the  East,  Vol.  II,  Chap.  IV. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I  15 

Saw  the  sweet  verdant  valley  sleeping  calmly  at  my 
feet, 

How  my  breast,  whose  homesickness  had,  indulged, 
been  lulled  to  rest, 

Heaved  and  swelled  with  solicitude  as  o'er  the  scene 
it  dwelled  ! 

Hopeless  still  was  that  bosom  for  I  knew  her  change- 
less will. 

Yet  a  faint,  indescribable  sensation  mocked  constraint. 

And  would  steal  o'er  the  soul,  whatever  passions  it 

might  feel. 
And  inspire  timid  visions  less  of  hope  than  of  desire. 

Each  retreat,  long  deserted  by  expatriated  feet, 

Where  so  oft    I  had  wandered  lay  below  me  in  the 

soft, 
Mellow  light  of  the  dying  day,  and  since,  ere  yet  the 

night 
Should  descend,    I    again   would  through  the  mazy 

bowers  wend. 
Might  I  chance  to  encounter  the  familiar  smile  and 

glance 
Which,  of  old,   I,  there  stealing,  was  accustomed  to 

behold  ? 

Thus  I  gazed  with  a  pensive  eye ;  but  soon  I  stood 
amazed 

As,  aroused  from  the  dreamland  where  my  sleepy 
spirit  drowsed, 

I  perceived  that  the  scene  was  by  no  human  form 
relieved  ! 

No  one  tilled  in  the  corn-fields,  none  their  evening 
pitchers  filled ! 

And  the  stones  of  the  grinders  sent  not  up  their  usual 
tones. 

But  surprise  scarce  had  given  me  a  moment  for  sur- 
mise 


Il6  THE  FALL  OE  UTOPIA. 

When  afar,    slowly    winding   up  the  mountains  that 

debar 
This  retreat  from  the  sloping  plains  extended  at  their 

feet, 
I  descried  hosts    of  mourners,  with    their  sackcloth 

round  them  tied, 
And    before,  spread  with  cypress  boughs,  a  solemn 

bier  they  bore  ! 
With  the  thrill   of  foreboding  and  suspense,  adown 

the  hill 
Swift  I  sped,  and  unhalting  in  the  valley,  onward  fled 
Over  knoll,  ravine,  torrent,  with  a  wild  presaging  soul, 
In  the  hope  to  o'ertake  them   ere  the  plains'  receding 

slope 
So  far  aid  their  slow  journey   that,  with   fears  still 

unallayed, 
I  at  last  must  abandon  my  pursuit ;  so  on  I  passed 

Till  the  tall  mountain  barrier  opposed  its  rocky  wall. 

Night  came  on,  and,  there  wandering  in  the  darkness 

all  alone 
I   in  vain  sought  the  defiles  which  conducted  to  the 

plain  ; 
So,  when  dawn  lit  the  passes,  all  the  train,  alas  !  was 

gone  ! 
Undismayed,   still   I    followed,    and    when    evening's 

deepening  shade 
Softly  fell  o'er  the  turrets  and  the  graceful  domes  that 

swell 
From  the  breast  of  Jerusalem,  all  crimsoned  from  the 

west, 
With  delight   I    beheld    upon    old  Scopus'  towering 

§height 
Those  I  sought,  gathered  lovingly  about  the  bier  they 

brought . 

§  Situated  north  of  Jerusalem,  and  by  many  thought  to  command  the 
finest  view  of  the  city. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I  I  7 

But  forgive  if  I  hasten  o'er  my  talc  ;   I  could  not  live 

Through  the  pain  of  relating  all    my  agonies  again. 

All  too  true  was  my  presage,  and    while  whispering 

night  winds  blew 
From  the  far  distant  sea,  and  softly  twinkled  every  star 

In  the  wide  arch  of  heaven,  they  related  how  she  died. 

Time   indeed    brought   repentance    of    the    destiny 

decreed, 
Till  she  felt  all  the  coldness  of  her  frozen  nature  melt. 

And  perceived,    spite   of   justice,    that    each  human 

heart  bereaved, 
Must  regret,  —  that  to  slumber  is  not  wholly  to  forget. 

Every  scene  love  had  sanctified  when,   peaceful  and 

serene. 
There  we   strayed,  woke  remembrance,  till  the  deep 

remorse  that  preyed 
In  her  breast,  stole  the   tulips  from  her  cheeks  and 

mocked  her  rest. 

Well,   she    died  ;  and  when  winding  up  the  distant 

mountain  side, 
They  conveyed  to  the  Holy  Hills  her  bier,  I  just  had 

strayed 
To  the  height  of  those  western  peaks,  from  whence  I 

caught  the  sight 
And  pursued  to  the  sacred  walls  the  funeral  multitude. 

O   the   hell  which  within  my  tortured  breast  I  felt  to 

swell  ! 
Heart  and  brain  whirled  convulsively  in  simoom-blasts 

of  pain. 
Only  those   who    have   gazed  upon   the  stilly,  pale 

repose 
Of  the  breast  where  affection  once  was  whispered  into 

rest, 


1 18  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

And  have  mused  o'er  the  forehead,  once  all  blushingly 

suffused 
At  the  breath  of  a  loved  one,  bearing  now  the  kiss  of 

Death  — 
Those  alone  know  affliction  as  alas!  it  may  be  known, 

And  can  feel  desolation  in  its  fulness  o'er  them  steal. 

How  intense  is  the  loneliness  of  heart !  each  ravished 

sense 
Must  deplore  that  the  object  of  its  love  can  be  no  more. 

And  by  chance  if  the  force  of  years  some  sullen  solace 

grants 
Till  up  start  stately  fabrics  in  the  newly  hoping  heart, 

Still  they  grow,  like  Tiberias,  from  the  crumbled  tombs 
*below ! 

It  was  night:  down  the  mountain  side,  with  many  a 

mournful  light 
O'er  the  plain  wildly  gleaming,  slowly  came  the  solemn 

train. 
Salem  slept ;  even  the  zephyrs,  which  among  the  trees 

had  crept, 
Died  away,  and  no  sound  escaped  the  funeral  array. 

On  they  passed  by  the  Grotto  of  the  fProphet,  till,  at 

last. 
Between  Gihon,  towering  darkly,  and  the  sacred  hill 

of  JZion, 
They   awoke    mournful    dirges,  and,  with  measured 

voice  and  stroke, 

*"  Th;  city  having  been  built  over  an  ancient  cemetery,  Herod  was 
obliged  to  use  force  and  bribes  to  induce  the  people  to  settle  there."  — 
Hist.  Jews,  B  Xn. 

tThe  Grotto  of  Jeremiah,  north  of  the  city,  Damascus  gate. 

jSituated  respectively  on  the  west  and  south  side  of  the  city. 


tHE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  II9 

Wound  along  Hinnom's  ITvalley  till  the  melancholy 

song 
Swept  the  Vale  of  ||Jehoshaphat,  and  Kidron  caught 

the  wail. 
Up  the  steep  stones  of  Olivet,  whose  summit  seemed 

to  keep 
Solemn  guard  o'er  the  sepulchers  beneath  its  watch 

and  ward, 
Through   the  gloom,  they  bore  the  body  to  the  cold, 

confining  tomb. 


As  I  woke  into  consciousness  the  streaks  of  morning 

broke 
Far  away  over  Moab,  and  the  Holy  City  lay 
In  the  gray  mists  of  morning  at  my  feet :  advancing 

day 
Bathed  the  east  in  a  flood  of  golden  glory,  which 

increased 
Till   the   sky   burned   with    beauty,  and  §Sakhara's 

dome,  near  by, 
Flashed  the  light  back  to  heaven  even  more  intensely 

bright. 
They  had  gone ;  all  was  silent,  and  I  pondered  there 

alone. 
In    a  tomb  near  the  **Prophet's,  to  await  the  final 

doom. 
They  had  laid  her  I  cherished  !     Once  I  softly  knelt 

and  prayed. 
Then  arose,  and,  descending,  left  her  spirit  to  repose. 

ITThe  Valley  of  Hinnon  (or  more  properly,  the  Sons  of  Hinnon 
beginning  near  Mt.  Gihon,  extends  southward  in  a  direction  parallel  to 
the  western  wall,  turns  sharply  to  the  east  and  sweeping  along  the  back 
of  Zion  on  the  south,  joins  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphai  nearly  at  right 
angles. 

II  The  Valley  ot  Jehoshaphat,  through  which  flows  the  Brook 
Kidron,  separates  the  city  from  Olivet  on  the  east. 

§The  Mosque  of  Omar,  on  the  site  of  Solomon's  temple. 

**Zechariah. 


I20  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA, 

Dumb  and  sealed  all  the  voices  of  my  heart,  its  founts 

congealed. 
Soou  I  fled  from  the  region  of  the  worshipped  —  and 

the  dead  ! 
Now,  oppressed  with  the  silent  throes  which    agonize 

my  breast,  ' 

I    but   seek   some  short  respite  from  my  sorrow  till, 

grown  weak 
With  distress,   I   at   last,  shall  meet  the  Angel's  cold 

caress. 
And  resume  Love's  communion  in  the  Land  beyond 

the  tomb. 

WWW 

Tears  were  running  like  rivulets  from 
the  Syrian's  eyes,  and  when  his  story  was  at 
length  concluded,  laying  aside  his  cithern  he 
looked  up  to  the  royal  Disputant  and  en- 
quired, if, "after  such  extraordinary  misfortune 
in  his  native  land,  he  might  have  permission 
to  remain  in  the  peaceful  boundaries  of 
Utopia.?" 

The  King  had  been  much  affected  by  the 
recital,  and  the  occasional  sighs  and  tears 
with  which  it  was  interspersed,  together 
with  the  general  melancholy  air  of  the  af- 
flicted lover,  prevailed  over  the  heart  whose 
generous  nature  had  not  altered  since,  when 
yet    the  unpretentious    Disputant,     he    was 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  121 

prompted  to  resent  the  injustice  done  the 
innocent  Starlight.  Pie  readily  consented 
that,  together  with  his  companions,  the  Sy- 
rian should  henceforth  consider  Amaurot 
his  home. 

The  King,  however,  desired  that  his  com- 
panions should  relate  their  stories,  but  eve- 
ning coming  on,  and  there  being  no  moon, 
after  arranging  to  return  to  the  palace  gar- 
den at  the  same  hour  the  succeeding  day,  the 
delighted  strangers  at  last  retired,  much 
gratified  at  having  finally  found  a  refuge 
from  the  world  by  which  they  had  been  so 
misused. 


Chapter  XV. 

PROMPTLY  at  the  appointed 
hour  on  the  following  day, 
when  all  were  disposed  in  a 
convenient  circle  amid  the 
garden  bowers,  the  aged 
Arab  arose  and  placed  him. 
self  by  the  sovereign. 

The  long,  gray  beard,  bowed  form  and 
wrinkled  brow  proved  him  to  be  undoubted- 
ly a  man  of  sorrows  and  years.  His  flowing 
*haique  was  torn  and  soiled,  and  the  rude 
lance  which,  through  life-long  habit,  he  never 
laid  aside,  would  have  been  of  small  avail  for 
attack  or  defence.  In  his  face,  the  distress- 
ful look  which  characterized  all  his  compan- 
ions, assumed,  more  than  with  any,  the  phase 
of  despair. 

After  a  moment's  pause,  as  though  to  col- 
lect his  wandering  thoughts,  he  lifted  his 
eyes  toward  the  heavens  and  with  clasped 
hands  hanging  before  him,  thus  began  : 


♦Outer  Garment. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 


23 


"  Zoraya  !  my  Light  of  Dawn  !  thou  who 
sitcst  beside  the  cool  waters  of  *A1  Jennah, 
drinkest  of  the  sweet  streams  of  wine  and 
honey  that  flow  over  their  musk  beds  through 
bordering  saffron  boughs  ;  and  hearest  the 
sweet  tones  of  fisrafel  mingling  with  the 
ineffable  melody  of  the  §Taba's  fruit-laden 
limbs  when  rustled  by  the  perfumed  airs 
from  Allah's  throne  !  sustain,  O  sustain  me 
as  I  relate  my  tale  of  woe  !  "  Then  address- 
ing the  sovereign  he  continued  : 

"Love  of  country,  O  King  !  is  inherent,  I 
know,  but  even  the  stranger  will  concede 
that  IIHejaz  is  a  goodly  land.  There  among 
the  Highlands  whose  grassy  peaks  look  down 
on  the  sea  below,  I  was  born  and  reared.  My 
father,  the  Sheik  of  an  extensive  tribe  inhab- 
iting this  region,  was  a  man  whose  courage 
and  hospitality  could  not  be  equalled  ;  and 
the  unmixed  blood  of  JKailhan  flowed  in  the 
veins  of  all  his  noble  steeds. 

"Here  with  only  such  incidents  as  mark 
the  career  of  tribes  of  my  nation,  I    passed 


♦Paradise.  fHaving  the  sweetest  voice  of  all  the  aneels 

§The  Mohammed  Tree  of  Life.  ""gcis. 

||The  western  third  of  the  peninsular,  bordering  on  the  Red  Sea. 
{One  of  Solomon's  horses,  from  which  best  Arabian  breeds  are  re- 
puted to  have  descended. 


124  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

my  careless  youth.  Activity  and  freedom 
of  life  lent  their  aid  to  develop  mind  and 
body  into  complete  and  harmonious  matu- 
rity. This  form,  O  King  !  now  bending  be- 
neath the  weight  of  woe  and  years,  became 
tall  and  lissome  as  the  palm  ;  and  such  in- 
struction as  could  be  afforded  in  a  wander- 
ing mountain  tribe  was  given  my  restless 
mind.  -^^ 

''At  an  early  age  I  displayed  great  ability 
in  the  cultivation  of  poetry ;  and  the  partial- 
ity of  friends  even  declared  my  early  pro- 
ductions to  be  superior  to  those  of  §Hatem, 
f  Amru,  or  the  beautiful  JSedjah.  This  tal- 
ent so  much  prized  by  an  Arab,  was  assidu- 
ously fostered,  and  soon  my  name  was  known 
throughout  all  Hejaz. 

'•Now,  in  the  holy  city  of  Mecca  there  had 
also  arisen  a  poet  who,  in  spite  of  several 
distasteful  characteristics,  had  acquired  some 
celebrity.  Impatient  of  rivalry,  and  envious 
of    my    growing    reputation,    he    finally  ex- 

§"The  character  of  Hatem  is  the  perfect  model  of  Arabian  virtue  ; 
he  was  brave  and  liberal,  an  eloquent  poet,  and  a  successful  robber." 
"Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall,"  chap.  L. 

fThe  distinguished  warrior  for  the  faith  whose  "poetic  genius  [in 
youth]  was  exercised  against  Mahomet." — Ibid. 

|The  infatuated  poetess  whose  affiliation  with  the  false  prophet 
Moseilina  has  rendered  her  famous. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPrA.  I25 

pressed  his  desire  that  we  meet  in  friendly 
contest  and  determine  whose  was  the  supe- 
rior gift.  The  great  poetical  contests  of  the 
annual  fairs  of  Ocadh  had  long  since  been 
abolished,  but  this  did  not  prevent  a  gener- 
ous contention  among  private  individuals. 

**Judgesfrom  among  the  friends  of  each 
having  been  selected,  and  the  place  of  meet- 
ing appointed,  the  contest  began.  My  rival 
sang  the  wondrous  achievements  of  the  in- 
vincible *Khaled,  while  I  chose  the  loves  of 
fBalkis  and  Suleyman  the  Wise  as  my 
theme.  The  contest  was  long  and  spirited 
and  the  interest  intense.  It  was  not  until 
nightfall  that  the  rendering  of  the  poems 
was  concluded,  and  when,  on  the  morrow, 
the  discision  was  pronounced,  I  was  declared 
the  victor. 

"At  the  news  of  his  defeat,  my  unsuccess- 
ful rival,  irascible  by  nature,  flew  into  a  ter- 
rible passion,  and  when,  in  the  evening,  we 
chanced  to  meet  again,  his  eyes  flashed  like 
those  of  the  §Avenging  Angel. 


*The  famous,  "Sword  of  God,"  perhaps  the  most  notable  of  Moham- 
medan warriors.  tQueen  of  Sheba. 

§Described  by  Mahomet  as  inhabiting  the  fifth  heaven.  His  eyes 
flashed  fire  and  he  held  in  his  hand  a  flaming  lance,  while  his  visage  was 
"the  most  hideous  and  terrific"  of  those  of  all  the  angels. 


126  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

*"Kotaib,"  he  exclaimed,  how  darest 
thou  confront  me  after  thy  treachery  ?  " 

"  *Ah  !  '  I  replied  calmly,  as  I  gazed  into 
his  burning  eyes,  'has  JAl  Moktar  come 
among  us  ? ' 

"My  apparent  carelessness  provoked  him 
the  more,  and  he  flew  into  an  uncontrollable 
rage. 

**  *Yes,  it  is  well  to  regard  it  lightly,  but 
thou  knowest  that  thou  hast  won  by  bribery.' 

Somewhat  stung  by  his  groundless  accu- 
sation, I  retorted  : 

**  'Thou  liest !'  and  drew  my  lance. 

"  *No,  §A1  Monthawi,'  he  replied,  becom- 
ing somewhat  calmer,  'lay  aside  thy  weapon. 
Knowest  thou  not  that  this  is  the  sacred 
month  of  f Ramadan  —  even  the  peaceful 
night  of  :|:A1  Kader  ?  Dare  not  violate,  in 
thine  haste,  the  holy  law  of  the  Prophet. 
Put  up  thine  arms  and  depart  in  peace  ;  but 
know,  O  §§Abu  Jahl  !  that  a  vengeance  more 
relentless  and  insatiable  than   the  ffThar  it- 

*Dog.  |The  Avenger.  §The  Destroyer,  t  A  month  of  abstinence, 
pilgrimage  and  prayer,  during  which  all  hostilities  cease. 

|The  Divine  Decree  ;  "a  night  in  which,  according  to  the  Koran, 
angels"  descend  to  earth  and  Qabriel  brings  down  the  decrees  of  God. 
During  that  night  there  is  peace  on  earth,  and  a  holy  quiet  reigns  overall 
nature  until  the  rising  of  the  morn." — Irving,  Mahomet  and  his  Suc- 
cessors, §§Father  of  Folly,  ft  Blood  revenge,  regarded  by  the  Arabs 
as  an  unavoidable,  sacred  duty. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  127 

self  shall  follow  thee,  though  thou  shouldst 
fly  beyond  the  rocky  walls  of  JKaf  into  the 
awful  land  of  ^Yajiij  and  Majdj.  Sooner 
shall  IIThabeck  and  Rushvan  desert  their 
charges  than  thy  tortured  soul  find  peace  ! ' 

"With  this  he  turned  away,  his  features 
relaxing  into  a  scornful  smile,  and  left  me 
alone  beneath  the  stars. 

*'  I  was  a  man  of  courage,  O  King  !  but, 
brought  to  a  sense  of  my  perilous  situation 
by  his  ominous  words,  a  sudden  terror  siezed 
me  and  I  trembled  at  my  fate.  This  it  was 
which  justified  my  terror  : 

«'When  Gian  ben  Gian,  King  of  the  Genii, 
and  founder  of  the  Pyramids,  was,  at  the  end 
of  two  thousand  years,  overthrown,  with  all 
his  rebellious  subjects,  by  Azrael,  the  mighty 
warrior  of  Paradise,  ere  he  himself  rebelled, 
the  talismanic  buckler  of  the  Genius  King, 
after  many  transitions,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Suleyman  the  Wise  ;  while  his  girdle,  next 
in  potency  to  the  buckler  itself,  was  inherited 
by  another. 

"For  many  years  the   possessor  of  this 

JThe  Caucasus.  ITGog  and  Magog. 

||The  respective  guardians  of  the  gates  of  Hell  and  Paradise. 


128  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

precious  treasure  was  unknown,  but  a 
certain  man  of  the  now  lost  tribe  of  Tlia- 
mud  was  at  length  discovered  to  hold  the 
Genii  in  command  ;  and,  the  buckler  of  Suley- 
man  the  Wise  being  safe,  it  was  known  that 
he  held  in  his  possession  the  missing  girdle 
or  Gian  ben  Gian.  In  the  general  extinc- 
tion of  the  iniquitous  primitive  tribes,  every 
soul  of  the  tribe  of  Thamud  passed  away, 
except  this  single  scion.  By  foreign  mar- 
riage, however,  his  mingled  blood  was  trans- 
mitted, in  an  unbroken  line  of  posterity, 
until  its  present  termination  in  the  poet  of 
Mecca.  He,  indeed,  could  claim  but  little 
of  the  blood  ;  but,  as  the  sole  surviving  heir 
of  his  mighty  father,  unto  him,  (against 
whose  potent  domination  of  the  Dives  and 
Peris  even  the  Two  §  Suras  couid  not  pre- 
vail), descended  the  girdle  of  the  vanquished 
Genius.  At  his  command  all  the  Genii  for- 
sook their  abodes  and  hastened  to  do  his 
bidding,  good  or  evil. 

"Hence  it  was  that  his  threatened  ven- 
geance made  my  awakened   soul  to  tremble. 


§A   transcription  of  the  two  final  chapters  of  the  Koran  is  used  as  a 
talisman,  among  the  Mohammedans. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I  29 

and  the  darkness  of  my  apprehension  soon  was 
fully  justified. 

"  O  Angel  of  Mercy  !  that  his  cursed 
resentment  should  have  made  my  dearest 
love,  my  Light  of  Dawn,  the  instrument  of 
his  vengeance,  and,  sweeping  like  the  awful 
§Khamseen  over  my  blooming  heart,  left  it 
bleak  and  desolate !  As  the  heart  loves,  so  is 
its  grief. 

"On  the  Highlands  of  Hejaz,  farther  to 
the  south  than  the  pasturage  of  my  father's 
tribe,  there  lived,  —  the  light  of  her  adopted 
tribe,  the  glory  of  the  race  !  —  the  fairest  of 
the  daughters  of  Adam.  The  tender  beauty 
of  her  smiling  face,  the  grace  and  energy  of 
her  rounded  form,  were  well  supported  by  a 
strength  of  mind,  a  frankness  of  manners, 
and  a  generousness  of  heart  which  could  not 
but  prevail  over  the  most  unfeeling  nature  ; 
and,  with  equal  ease  she  sat  upon  the  un- 
tamed steeds  of  the  desert,  or,  around  the 
evening  camp-fires,  related  stories  of  her 
former  home  beside  the  Nile. 

"The  sorrowing  and  afflicted  were  her 
especial  care,    and  a   single  word  from  her 

§June  simoom. 


I30  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

comforting  lips  more  soothingly  fell  than  all 
the  Balsams  of  the  South.  So  discreet  was 
she,  that  among  the  tribe  she  was  known  as 
Onun  Lhoem,  Mother  of  Wisdom,  —  the  best 
deserved  of  her  titles  ;  —  and  her  praise  was 
upon  the  commending  tongue  of  all  who 
could  word  her  name.  Her  teeth  seemed 
formed  of  the  pearls  of  Iran's  gulf,  and  her 
luminous  smile,  contrasting  with  the  dark- 
ness of  her  soft,  waving  hair,  well  confirmed 
her  true  name  of  Zoraya,  Light  of  Dawn. 
Ah  !  gentle,  trusting  soul  !  my  light  of  dawn 
she  was  indeed,  and  —  confusion  upon  his 
face  !  —  the  recreant  slave  who  deprived  me 
of  her  latest  smile,  shall  forever  be  justly 
stigmatized  as  Abu  Leilah,  Father  of 
Night  ! 

<'We  had  met  and  loved.  For  my  part, 
the  passion  she  evoked  was  but  the  adoration 
of  her  modesty  and  beauty  which  so  many 
had  bestowed  on  her  before.  She,  for  some 
less  obvious  cause,  had  returned  my  fond 
attachment,  and,  listening  to  the  fervor  of 
my  love,  as  poured  forth  in  a  thousand 
verses,  or,  struck  by  the  comely,  supple  form 
with  which  nature   endowed    my   youth,  at 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I3I 

length  responded  to  my  passion  with  an  ar- 
dor equal  to  my  own. 

**The  years  of  our  affection  had,  thus 
far,  been  an  untroubled  dream,  but,  soon 
after  the  malediction  of  my  unsuccessful 
rival,  occurred  the  sad  calamity  whose  hor- 
rors haunt  my  endless  days  —  not  to  the 
grave,  but  through  the  death  of  life. 

"One  night,  sleeping  alone  in  my  dark- 
ened tent,  I  seemed  to  see  the  pallid  face  of 
Zoraya  in  the  throes  of  death.  Her  pale  lips 
moved,  and  seemed  to  frame  my  name,  but 
uttered  not  a  word.  Her  open  arms  were 
extended  toward  me,  and  seemed  beckoning 
me  to  come,  and  then  they  fell  listlessly  by 
her  side.  I  awoke,  trembling  and  terrified. 
The  beads  of  perspiration  stood  upon  my 
forehead,  and  the  restlessness  of  anxiety 
would  not  permit  me  to  return  to  sleep.  I 
could  not  banish  the  awful  vision  from  my 
eyes,  and,  after  many  vain  endeavors,  finally 
determined  to  set  out  toward  her  abode  with- 
out delay. 

"The  night  was  not  far  advanced,  and  the 
brilliant  moon  was  just  mounting  in  the  east, 
when,  alone,  I  stole  from  my  tent  and  began 
my  journey. 


132 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 


''The  ages  to  which  anxiety  extended 
the  time  I  had  been  journeying,  were,  in  re- 
ality, but  a  few  short  hours,  and,  as  I  en- 
tered a  wooded  valley  between  two  verdant 
hills,  the  moon  had  just  arrived  at  its  mid- 
night zenith.     It  was  the  Peris*  day-break. 

"I  thought,  as  I  gazed  through  the  sol- 
emn wood  where  the  boughs  intertwined 
overhead  and  the  silver  moonlight  slept  in 
flecks  upon  the  carpeted  ground  beneath, 
that  I  had  never  before  beheld  so  entranc- 
ing a  scene.  In  silent  admiration,  despite 
my  anxiety,  I  stood  and  gazed  upon  the 
beautiful  valley.  For  awhile,  not  a  sound 
broke  the  midnight  stillness,  and  a  peaceful 
calm  possessed  the  silent  night.  But,  at 
last,  from  the  gloomy  end  of  the  valley, 
which  extended  into  the  distance,  there  came 
the  faintest  whisperings  of  exquisite  music, 
swelling  in  modulated  tenderness  upon  the 
gentle,  perfumed  breezes  which  immediately 
began  to  blow,  and,  falling  delicately  upon 
the  senses,  lapped  my  spirit  into  an  ecstacy  of 
delight.  Such  heavenly  melody  !  I  listened 
infatuated.  Advancing  slowly  in  the  direc- 
tion whence  it  came,    I  was  even    more    de- 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  1 33 

lighted  by  the  increasing  strains,  and,  un- 
heeding where  I  strayed,  hurried  on  and  on 
and  on,  until,  in  a  region  never  trod  by  man, 
I  came  upon  the  gossamer  Peris  in  the 
midst  of  a  joyful  festival. 

"•Thou  hast  done  thy  task  well,"  one 
whispered  to  another  as,  speeding  by  me, 
she  joined  the  throng  ;  and  the  first  smilingly 
pointed  her  airy  finger  towards  me  as  she 
spoke. 

"Aside  from  this  all  seemed  unconscious 
of  my  presence,  and  gaily  continued  the 
dance  and  chorus.  Hour  after  hour  they 
prolonged  their  ravishing  music,  and  that, 
too,  like  the  nightingale,  without  once  re- 
peating a  strain.  Such  symphony,  such  va- 
riety, I  had  never  heard  before,  and  soon  the 
very  remembrance  of  my  recent  solicitude 
was  lost  in  the  trance  of  joy.  I  stood  uncon- 
scious of  the  flight  of  time. 

"Suddenly,  above  the  gentle  chorus  of 
the  dancing  Peris,  broke  from  a  distant  min- 
aret the  familiar  cry  : 

§"  ^La  illaha  il  Allah :  Moliamed  Res- 
oul  Allah  ! ' 

§Therc  is  no  god  but  God  :  Mahomet  is  the  prophet  of  God. 


134  THE  BALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

"The  Muezzin  was  calling  to  morning 
prayers  !  In  an  instant  the  Peris  vanished; 
and  the  valley  became  silent  and  still.  I 
started  and  looked  about  me.  The  moon- 
light had  faded,  and  the  gray  shades  of  dawn 
were  around  me.  It  seemed  a  different 
place.  Nothing  was  familiar.  The  differ- 
ence of  light  had  transformed  every  object. 
I  could  no  longer  tell  whence  I  had  entered 
the  valley,  for  several  smaller  depressions 
radiated  between  the  hills  which  stood  on 
every  hand.  Realizing  my  situation,  a  sud- 
den terror  seized  me,  and,  in  wild  desperation, 
I  hastened  from  the  place. 

"  After  long  wanderings  in  unfamiliar 
paths,  I  at  last  succeeded  in  finding  my  way, 
and,  filled  with  remorse  for  having  been  de- 
coyed, hurried  onward  to  accomplish  my 
journey.  But  a  vague  misgiving  possessed 
me. 

"  In  her  home  beyond  the  Red  Sea, 
Zoraya  was  once  a  priestess  of  Iris,  and  when 
leaving  her  native  land,  had  brought  with  her 
the  sacred  ibis  of  the  temple  where  she  min- 
istered. Great  fondness  had  sprung  up  be- 
tween the  two,  and  the  bird  was  ever  at  her 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I35 

side.  So,  when  I  looked  up  and  beheld  this 
devoted  pet  swiftly  flying  towards  its  long- 
forsaken  home,  my  alarm  knew  no  bounds. 
It  was  an  awful  omen.     She  was  dead. 

"In  an  agony  of  doubt  and  fear  I  has- 
tened on,  and  at  mid-day  nervously  drew 
aside  the  curtain  of  her  tent.  There  she  lay, 
pale  and  feeble  with  approaching  death ! 
Just  as  I  entered,  the  lids  of  her  eyes  turned 
expectantly  towards  the  tent  door,  then  slowly 
closed.  She  sighed,  and  her  thin  lips  moved. 
Bending  over  her  I  caught  the  broken  words  : 

"  '  Ya  Allah  !  he  does  not  come  !  For- 
saken !  —  at  last  forsaken  !  Earth,  farewell  ! ' 

"I  would  have  taken  her  in  my  arms 
and  kissed  an  assurance  of  my  presence,  but 
she  struggled  ;  —  she  was  dead  !  She  whom 
I  had  loved  so  tenderly  had  died  believing 
me  unfaithful  !  She  whom  I  had  cherished 
for  so  many  delicious  years  had  expired  with- 
out a  parting  kiss  !  No  assurance  of  the 
love  which  mocked  the  tomb  !  She  had  set, 
like  the  sun  beyond  §Algarbe  ! 

"In  a  frenzy  of  grief  I  hastened  from 
the  tent  ere  those  who  watched  beside  her 

§The  west. 


136  THEFALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

had  recovered  from  their  surprise.  Away 
from  those  mournful  precincts  I  hurried  ;  — 
away  from  the  face  of  man.  I  had  resolved 
to  pray  to  die. 

"  Onward  I  went,  over  mountain  and 
desert,  vainly  hoping  to  dispel  my  thoughts, 
or  as  vainly  sighing  for  the  oblivion  of  the 
tomb.  Ah !  how  sweet  is  death  !  How 
strange  that  those  who  may  one  day  feel  its 
power  should  regard  it  as  the  worst  of  foes ! 
The  grave  is  the  asylum  of  peace  ! 

"  I  will  not  trace  the  tedious  details  of 
my  wanderings  ;  but,  at  length  abandoning 
my  native  land  forever,  I  began  a  restless 
roving.  Over  oceans  and  foreign  lands  I  pur- 
sued my  weary  way.  A  year  rolled  by;  another 
and  another  !  Ten  slow  years  passed  ;  — 
twice  ten  and  ten  more.  Could  I  never  die.'' 
The  most  threatening  dangers  passed  me  by 
and  I  remained  unharmed.  When  destruc- 
tion seemed  inevitable,  the  portentous  agents, 
passing  me,  turned  and  smiled  in  mockery. 
The  spell  of  the  Thamudite  poet  was  at  work  ! 

«'  In  the  midst,  O  King  !  of  the  third  of 
the  resplendent  heavens,  where  glittering 
gems  dazzle  the  eye  on  every  hand   and  the 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I  37 

streaming  light  from  Allah's  distant  throne 
bathes  the  walls  with  living  glory,  sits,  with 
a  hundred  thousand  battalions  keeping  eter- 
nal guard,  the  mightiest  of  the  §gem-crcated, 
great  Azrael,  the  Angel  of  Death.  A  thous- 
and times  the  alloted  life  of  man  would 
scarcely  be  sufficient  for  traversing  his  meas- 
ureless brow  ;  while  his  height,  even  as  he 
sits,  is  beyond  the  power  of  conception. 
Before  him  is  spread  a  book,  which  extends 
over  half  his  dominion,  and  on  its  pages  he 
is  continually  writing  and  erasing  the  names 
of  those  whose  birth  or  death  is  at  hand. 
Whoever  approaches  this  awful  seat  of  desti- 
ny must  first  evade  the  innumerable  angels 
who,  with  unsleeping  vigilance,  stand  in  the 
glittering  stars  which  depend  by  golden 
chains  from  the  silver  v.iult  of  the  first  of  the 
heavens,  and  hurl  their  burning  meteor 
brands  at  those  who  dare  to  scale  the  celes- 
tial battlements  ;  must  compass  the  height 
of  the  heaven  of  steel  and  elude  the  multi- 
tude of  spirits  of  light  who  have  their  habi- 
tation there ;    and    finally    prevail    over   the 

§The  Angels  were  created  of  bright  gems  ;  the  Genii  of  fire  ;  and  Man 
of  clay. 


138  THE  FALL  OE  UTOPIA. 

guardian  host  of  Azrael  himself.  The  pages 
of  that  book  can  never  be  turned  backward, 
and  the  destinies  they  decree  are  irrevocable. 
Hence  the  jealous  care  with  which  the  leaves 
are  guarded. 

But  all  this  could  not  withstand  the  spell 
of  Gian  ben  Gian's  potent  girdle,  and  the 
cunning  audacity  of  his  surviving  minions. 
Hence  comes  my  eternal  sorrow. 

When  the  alluring  midnight  revelry  of 
the  Genii  in  the  valley  had  ceased,  the  mis- 
chievous elves,  delighted  with  their  success, 
fled  hastily  to  their  secluded  home  and  await- 
ed the  succeeding  night.  Then  again  all 
issued  forth  to  receive  the  commands  of  their 
revenging  master.  His  orders  were  to  scale 
the  walls  of  Paradise  and  change  the  record 
of  my  destiny  !     I  was  to  live  forever  !  ! 

"  With  the  Dives  and  Peris,  to  will  is  to 
do,  and  to  conceive  is  to  execute.  Two  of 
the  boldest  of  the  tribe,  endowed  with  voices 
of  supernal  sweetness,  were  chosen  from  the 
number,  and  in  a  moment  more,  they  were 
winging  their  flight  toward  the  far-off  walls 
of  Paradise. 

"  High  above  the  earth's   receding  hills 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  1 39 

and  mountains  airly  floated  the  Peris  on  the 
limitless  bosom  of  space.  They  seemed  like 
the  faint  palpitations  of  a  sleeping  Universe. 
Their  filmy  wings  scarce  waked  a  zephyr 
from  its  still  repose.  Beyond,  the  acuteness 
of  vision  possessed  by  Genii  alone  revealed 
the  misty  walls  of  their  objective  Paradise, 
and,  unswerving  in  their  flight  only  as  their 
imponderable  bodies  swayed  time  to  their 
pilgrim  song,  they  sailed  with  incredible 
swiftness  and  indescribable  ease.  Soon  the 
green  earth  had  faded  from  their  vision,  and 
other  worlds  swept  by.  Nearer  and  nearer 
the  high  battlements  approached  ;  the  Two 
§Rivers  flowed  beneath  their  feet. 

"  When  arrived  within  range  of  the 
guardian  spirit's  vision,  each  took  the  golden 
lyre  suspended  at  her  side,  folded  her  wings 
of  light,  and,  as  she  floated  toward  the  seat 
of  bliss,  began  warbling  with  her  sister  such 
euphonious  strains  as  even  Paradise  had 
never  heard  before  !  As  the  rapturous  mel- 
odies stole  over  the  sacred  walls,  the  spirits 
stood  out  upon  the  pendant  stars,  and,  laying 
aside  their  arms,  stooped  low  to  catch    the 

§The  Nile  and  Euphrates,  fabled  to  flow  beneath  the  throne  of  Allah. 


I40  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

faintest  tone.  Nearer  and  nearer  the  Peris 
came.  The  Silver  Heaven  stood  entranced. 
With  a  sweeter  sweep  of  their  golden  strings 
and  a  wilder  beauty  in  their  symphonious 
song,  they  spread  their  elfin  pinions  for  a 
swifter  flight  and  lit  beyond  the  towering 
walls  !     Paradise  was  gained. 

"  Scarcely  pausing,  however,  to  catch  a 
breath  of  the  garden's  delightful  fragrance, 
or  to  repose  their  weary  bodies  after  their 
extended  flight,  again  they  spread  their  airy 
wings,  and,  resuming  their  melodious  song, 
mounted  upward  ;  entered  the  second  of  the 
heavens  ;  and,  before  the  sentinel  angels  had 
yet  recovered  from  their  surprise,  stood  in  the 
third  circle,  within  sight  of  the  awful  seat 
of  Azrael. 

"  No  sooner  had  they  entered  those 
trebly  sacred  precincts  than  the  mighty  le- 
gions around  the  angel  of  death  and  destiny 
began  brandishing  their  fiery  swords  ;  but,  as 
they  caught  the  sound  of  the  approaching 
music,  all  dropped  their  arms  and  stood  mo- 
tionless beneath  the  spell.  No  sound  but 
that  of  the  lyres  and  voices  of  the  Peris 
broke  the  listening  stillness.    No  one  moved. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  14^ 

From  above  and  below  the  angels  of  Para- 
dise stole  near  to  catch  the  strange,  sweet 
tones,  and  soon  all  were  lost  in  a  half-uncon- 
sciousness.    The  opportunity  had  arrived. 

"  With  an  imperceptible  motion  the 
Peris  at  length  began  to  separate,  and  to  tend 
still  nearer  toward  the  seat  of  Azrael.  Soon 
they  hovered  on  either  side,  and  simultane- 
ously the  notes  of  one  grew  fainter  and  faint- 
er, those  of  the  other,  clearer  and  sweeter. 
Involuntarily  the  attentive  eyes  of  the  heav- 
enly audience  turned  upon  the  latter,  and 
finally  the  strains  of  the  former  died  entirely 
away.  The  first  hung  her  lyre,  yet  quiver- 
ing, by  her  side,  and  softly  glanced  around. 
No  one  perceived  her  ;  all  were  listening  en- 
tranced. Stooping  slowly  and  cautiously 
over  the  book  of  destiny,  she  ran  her  eye 
swiftly  down  its  open  pages  until  it  reached 
my  name.  In  a  moment  she  blotted  out 
those  above  and  below  my  own,  and,  with  a 
lightning  touch,  turned  the  leaf  !  Her  mis- 
sion was  accomplished  I 

''  Ya  Allah  !  what  a  moment  it  was  for 
my  life-weary,  tortured  soul  !  Never  to  die ! 
Never  to  die  !     Never  to  sit   with    my    lost 


142  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

Zoraya  beside  the  cool  rivers  which  refresh- 
ingly flow  through  the  shady  groves  of  Al 
Jcnnah  !  The  fires  of  Jehennam  are  to  be 
much  preferred  !  Their  cursed  commission 
done,  the  Genii  returned  to  earth,  amid  the 
praises  and  benedictions  of  their  satisfied 
master.     He  had  hecn  revenged  ! 

"  And  so,  O  my  benefactor  !  I  have 
wandered  through  the  kingdoms  of  earth,  but 
sorrow  haunts  me  still.  I  have  wept  beside 
all  tides  and  lamented  on  every  mountain, 
and  yet  my  heart  is  full.  The  same  dread 
consciousness  of  interminable  life  and  an- 
guish marks  every  month  and  day  and  hour. 
For  awhile,  age  seemed  stealing  on,  as  these 
locks,  this  form,  betray ;  and  hope  of  death 
revived  in  my  weary,  sickened  heart  :  but  at 
last,  though  the  years  went  by,  they  left  no 
trace  of  age  behind.  For  me  there  can  be 
no  death  —  no  rest.  Hence,  O  King  of  this 
peculiar  island  !  I  have  sought,  less  from 
hope  than  despair,  a  sojourn  in  your  secluded 
land,  to  spend,  in  commiserable  woe,  a  por- 
tion of  those  days  which,  unless  the  infinite 
mercy  of  Allah  especially  reverse  the  book 
of  decrees,  can  find  no  end  until,  at  the  final 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  1 43 

trumpet  of  Israfel,  heaven   and    earth   shall 
melt  away." 


^ 


Chapter  XVI. 

HE  King  of  Utopia  had 
listened  with  great  attention 
to  the  story  of  the  unfortu- 
nate Arab,  and  had  been 
affected  even  more  by  his  woeful  condemna- 
tion to  an  endless  life  than  by  the  grief  and 
desolation  of  the  Syrian  lover.  All  the  atten- 
dants sighed  deeply  and  sympathetically  as  he 
concluded.  Indeed,  so  deeply  was  the  King 
moved,  to  learn  that  such  sorrow  existed  in 
the  outside  world,  that  he  determined,  not 
only  to  increase  his  favors  towards  the 
afflicted  refuges,  but  to  throw  open  Utopia 
to  all  the  world,  that  the  sorrowing  might 
find    repose. 

Pressing  affairs  of  state  would  not  per- 
mit the  continuance  of  the  narrations  for  a 
few  succeeding  days,  but  at  the  end  of  that 
time,  with  an  avidity  much  increased  by  de- 
lay, all  assembled  again  to  listen  to  the 
story  of  the  Spaniard's  cause  of  exile.  That 
144 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I  45 

of  the  beautiful  maiden  —  how  she  blushes 
there  beside  you  !  —  was  blended  with  his 
own,  and  this  would  consequently  be  the 
last  of  the  sadly  pleasant  entertainments. 
The  thought  brought  regret  to  all,  but  in- 
wardly they  had  devised  means  for  a  pro- 
longation of  the  agreeable  hours.  When  all 
were  seated  and  the  cavalier  had  placed  him- 
self in  the  centre  of  the  assemblage  and  fac- 
ing the  King,  he  began 

"  The  noblest  of  Castilian  blood  flowed 
in  my  father's  veins,  and  the  name  of  Don 
Jose  de  Vega  was  once  a  synonym  of  worth. 
Descended  from  one  of  the  bravest  of  the 
Knights  of  St.  lago,  whose  daring  achieve- 
ments on  the  field  of  Navaretta,  in  defence 
of  the  Bastard  King,  Don  Henry  of  Castile, 
against  his  tyrannical  brother,  evoked  the 
highest  praises  and  made  a  banner  of  his 
§pennons  —  with  this  extraction,  and  him- 
self brave,  courteous  and  liberal,  there  was 
not  a  cavalier  in  Spain  more  honored  and 
beloved. 

''His  father  before  him  had   been  a  man 


§  Hence  made  a  Knight  Banneret,  subservient  only  to  the  baron.     For 
both  above,  vide  Froissart,  Les  Chroniques. 


146  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

of  most  virtuous  and  exemplary  character 
who  sooner  would  have  forgotten  his  darling 
joys  than  his  Aves,  and  who  was  possessed 
of  the  tenderest  of  paternal  hearts.  To 
speak  truth,  Our  Lady  and  his  promising 
children  shared  among  them  his  exclusive 
meditation  and  concern,  and  had  the  force  of 
example  been  of  proper  avail,  the  latter  must 
have  been  paragons  of  their  kind.  Not  only 
was  he  scrupulously  discreet  in  his  conduct, 
but  took  every  precaution  that  no  contaminat- 
ing influences  should  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  his  children.  Their  domestic  surround- 
ings were  all  that  could  be  desired,  and 
every  vice,  despoiled  of  its  delusive  glitter, 
was  presented  in  its  true,  vicious  light. 

**  But  despite  his  solicitude  and  precau- 
tions, both  his  sons,  when  arrived  at  their 
majority  and  freed  from  paternal  restraint, 
gradually  fell  into  a  life  of  most  excessive 
dissolution.  In  a  few  brief  months  all  the 
instruction  of  years  seemed  to  have  been 
forgotten,  and,  by  reaction,  to  have  plunged 
them  into  more  unrestricted  vices  than  if 
they  had  never  been  restrained. 

"  Thus   several  years    stole    by,  but  at 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  1 47 

last  the  elder  of  the  two  fell  a  victim  to  his 
indiscretions  ;  and,  his  parents  having  died, 
my  father  found  himself  alone  and  friendless 
in  the  world.  In  spite  of  his  evils,  he  was  a 
man  of  judgment  and  feeling,  and,  brought 
to  a  sense  of  his  desperate  situation,  he  de- 
termined to  return. 

"This  determination  he  immediately 
put  into  execution,  and,  once  truly  repent- 
ant, his  piety  and  devotion  soon  became 
commensurate  with  his  former  depravity. 
How  a  heart  which,  like  his,  had  received 
the  advantages  of  all  moral  and  Christian 
example  and  instruction  could  ever  grow  so 
unnatural  as  to  forsake  its  righteous  princi- 
ples now  became  a  perplexing  question. 
Looking  around  him,  he  began  to  consider 
his  former  associates  in  wickedness,  and  to 
enumerate  those  among  them  who  had  sprung 
from  pious  parentage,  when,  to  his  astonish- 
ment and  shame,  he  discovered  that  these 
far  outnumbered  those  who  were  evil,  so  to 
speak,  by  inheritance.  Indeed,  so  decided 
was  this  predominance,  to  him  it  seemed 
that,  by  reason  of  the  aversion  which  famil- 
iarity with   vice  produced,    prevailing   even 


148  THF  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

over  the  force  of  example,  the  surest  guar- 
anty of  a  righteous  progeny  was  unrighteous 
ancestry ! 

The  multitude  of  disloyal  children  who 
had  forsaken  the  godly  counsel  of  their 
parents  confronted  him  on  every  hand,  and, 
by  a  reciprocal  course  of  ratiocination,  his 
half-developed  idea  was  becoming  rapidly 
confirmed.  Endued  with  the  natural  and  un- 
iversal opinion  of  mankind  as  to  example, 
this,  indeed,  appeared  to  be  a  paradox,  and 
he  turned  his  entire  attention  to  the  study 
of  sociology  —  particuliarly  this  phase. 

This  idiosyncracy  might  have  been  a 
weakness  produced  by  his  protracted  ex- 
travagances in  youth  —  a  slightly  unbalanced 
state  of  mind  ;  at  all  events,  he  continued  to 
investigate  the  subject  assiduously.  At  last 
he  expressed  his  firm  conviction  in  this  con- 
trary system  of  imparting  the  spirit  of  up- 
rightness. 

"  Meantime  he  had  loved,  won  and  wed- 
ded. This  difficult  and  perplexing  question — 
momentous,  however  decided  —  had  for 
awhile  restrained  him  from  the  consummation 
of  his  happiness,  but  when  did  love  ever  con- 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  1 49 

tinuc  to  reason  long  ?  The  fairest  beauty  of 
Castile  became  his  bride.  The  sole  issue  of 
that  union  was  myself. 

"  My  father,  among  other  of  his  quali- 
fications, was  a  man  of  set  determination  ; 
and,  convinced  of  the  integrity  of  his  idea, 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  put  it  into  practice. 
He  relied  implicitly  on  his  logical  deductions, 
and  having  once  arrived  at  a  conclusion,  all 
apparently  valid  contradictions  were  merely 
clever  sophistries.     He  remained  unmoved. 

'*  So  soon  as  I  had  arrived  at  an  age  of 
discernment  he  reverted  to  his  former  ex- 
travagances of  life,  for  he  loved  me  with  a 
tenderness  which  was  all  but  idolatry,  and 
his  willingness  for  self-sacrifice  extended  to 
the  soul  !  Among  his  friends  some  remained 
faithful,  but  the  greater  part,  believing  him 
mad,  deserted  him.  He  did  not  swerve. 
Would  to  God  he  had  ! 

"  All  went  serenely  during  the  earlier 
years  of  our  youth.  In  spite  of  example,  I 
retained  my  integrity.  But  at  last  came  the 
consequences  which  might  naturally  have 
been  expected.  I  became  as  depraved  as  my 
father —  even  worse.     Alas,  for  his  visionary 


15©  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

system  !  It  has  darkened  my  miserable  life. 
One  after  another,  in  rapid  succession,  I 
embraced  all  the  vices  in  the  category  of  sin. 
I  became  an  abandoned  man. 

"  My  father,  perceiving  the  failure  of  a 
system  by  which,  for  my  salvation,  he  had 
sacrificed  his  own  soul,  and  seeing  me,  un- 
grateful wretch,  violating  all  the  laws  of  God 
and  man,  began  to  decline,  and  so  continued 
until  he  sank,  broken-hearted,  into  the 
grave. 

**But  hearts  never  grow  too  depraved 
to  love,  though  love  itself  be  brought  to  de- 
pravity. In  a  pleasant  part  of  Andalusia, 
not  far  from  Grenada,  there  lived  a  beauti- 
ful Moorish  damsel  whose  bright  black  eyes 
and  graceful  form,  of  which  you  yourself 
may  judge,  had  captured  my  willing  heart. 
The  mother  of  Saffana  —  this  was  the  maid- 
en's name  —  had  been  permitted  by  good 
Queen  Isabella  to  remain  in  her  native  land, 
after  the  expulsion  of  her  race,  as  a  recom- 
pense for  some  kind  service,  and  there  she 
continued  to  remain.  The  feeble  appeals  of 
a  difference  in  faith  had  but  little  effect  on 
my  irreligious  heart,  and  a  total  disregard  of 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  tjt 

these  proprieties  became  one  of  my  greatest 
transgressions. 

"  The  wicked  are  the  favorites  of  for- 
tune, and  I  experienced  but  little  difficulty 
in  gaining  an  interview  with  the  object  of 
my  passion  ;  but  here  my  good  fortune 
ceased.  Pleasantly  but  firmly  she  replied  to 
my  entreaties  that,  though  she  should  become 
as  recreant  as  myself  in  ignoring  the  distinc- 
tions of  creeds,  she  was  already  another's  and 
could  give  me  no  encouragement.  Menace 
and  supplication  were  alike  unavailing,  and, 
after  several  months  of  persistent  effort,  I 
was  forced  to  abandon  my  suit. 

''  But  to  see  the  object  of  my  baffled 
love  become  another's,  without  raising  a  re- 
venging hand,  was  more  than  my  vitiated 
nature  could  now  endure.  The  happy  nup- 
tials were  approaching.  Posted  in  the 
mountains,  I  awaited  my  opportunity. 

**The  inexperienced  girl,  not  wishing  to 
disturb  the  peace  of  her  lover,  had  not  been 
discreet  enough  to  impart  to  him  the  secret 
of  my  unsuccessful  suit,  and  he,  therefore, 
apprehended  no  danger.  Together  they 
would  frequently  wander  upon  the  Vega  in 


152  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

the  cooler  hours  of  the  aften.oon  and  eve- 
ning ;  and  the  sight  of  their  loving  happiness 
made  my  resentful  bosom  burn. 

"  At  last,  one  afternoon,  shortly  before 
their  intended  union,  they  strolled  across  the 
Vega,  along  the  Xenil,  and  very  near  to  my 
lurking-place.  Saffana  sat  down  on  the 
river  bank.  I  saw  her  lover,  shortly  after- 
wards, leave  her  for  a  moment  and,  following 
the  stream  for  quite  a  distance,  plunge  in  for 
something.  My  opportunity  had  arrived. 
In  an  instant  I  had  swept  down  from  the 
mountain  on  my  fleet-footed  steed,  taken  her 
in  my  arms  and  hastened  back  to  the  fastness 
of  the  Sierras. 

"  Making  my  way  by  a  circuitous  route 
to  the  port  of  Malaga,  I  set  sail  with  her  for 
the  island  of  Majorca,  where  for  several 
months  we  remained.  Grief  for  her  affianced, 
however,  brought  on  an  illness  which  con- 
tinued during  our  sojourn  there.  Touched 
by  her  sorrow,  and,  moreover,  now  partially 
revenged,  my  heart  began  to  soften,  and  soon 
my  only  care  was  to  restore  her  to  health  and 
happiness. 

"  But    an    additional    blow    came.     Re- 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I  53 

ports,  from  a  source  which  seemed  indubita- 
ble, declared  that  her  despairing  lover  liad 
died  by  his  own  hand  immediately  after  his 
loss.  At  this,  the  afflicted  girl  was  over- 
whelmed with  grief.  My  own  tender  nature 
revived,  and  I  began  to  experience  the  most 
agonizing  remorse. 

In  search  of  diversion  among  new 
scenes,  we  soon  sailed  to  the  island  of  Sicily, 
where  we  remained  until,  encountering  our 
fellow-sorrowers,  who  sit  before  you,  and 
anxious,  like  themselves,  for  an  asylum  of 
peace,  we  determined  to  accompany  them  to 
the  blessed  island  of  Utopia." 


9i^ 


Chapter  XVII. 


HE  last  narrative  was  now 
concluded.  Slowly  and  re- 
gretfully the  company  dis- 
persed. The  King  of 
Utopia  had  listened  no  less 
attentively  than  on  the  pre- 
vious occasions,  and  was  now  determined,  not 
only  to  permit  the  oppressed  and  afflicted  of 
every  land  to  make  the  island  their  home, 
but,  impressed  by  the  insight  he  had  gained 
of  the  world  through  these  narratives,  he  re- 
solved to  throw  open  his  ports  to  the  general 
commerce  of  all  nations. 

His  fugitive  friends  were  given  lucrative 
and  agreeable  positions  under  the  govern- 
ment, and  ere  long  had  all  but  forgotten 
their  distresses  in  the  busy  routine  of  duty. 

Once  resolved  upon  establishing  com- 
mercial relations  with  the  world,  the  King  of 
Utopia  spared  no  pains  to  render  his  ports 
inviting.  Indeed,  his  pains  were  scarcely 
necessary,  for  the  fame  of  the  island's  won- 
154 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  155 

derful  peace  and  prosperity  had  spread  over 
the  face  of  the  globe,  and  the  interdiction  of 
foreign  vessels  had  long  been  deplored. 

No  sooner  had  his  royal  purpose  become 
known  than  the  shipping  of  the  world  began 
to  throng  the  harbors.     The  silks  of  Kathay 
and  the  furs  of  the  poles,    the  fruits  of  the 
tropics    and    the    manufactures    of   Europe 
poured  into  Utopia  in  exchange  for  its  min- 
erals  —  gold,  silver,    tin,   salt,   and  precious 
stones  — and  its  abundant  agricultural    pro- 
ductions—principally   wheat     and     barley. 
The  inexperience  of  the  Utopians  in  matters* 
of  commerce,    and    their   comparative  igno- 
rance of  monetary  values  left   them  an  easy 
prey  to  the  chicanery  of  unscrupulous   spec- 
ulators, and  the  natives  often    suffered    se- 
verely. 

By  this  indiscriminate  communication 
and  immigration  many  of  the  worst  elements 
of  society  were  introduced,  and  soon  all  the 
vices  of  the  East  stalked  abroad  in  the  capi- 
tal of  Uotpia.  Their  detrimental  influences 
were  naturally  augmented  by  their  novelty, 
for  vice  is  so  charming  in  its  newness.  So 
long  as,  in    the    mystery   of   human  hearts, 


156  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

mankind,  in  whatever  state,  may  be  allured 
by  the  unacquired,  so  long  shall  wickedness — 
the  unknown  state  —  tempt  the  purest  heart 
from  its  long-familiar  condition  of  innocence 
and  truth.  They  seized  it  with  destructive 
avidity,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  last 
struggles  of  Utopia's  glorious  principles 
were  at  hand. 

Efforts  for  individual  gain  rapidly  grew 
more  violent  and  exclusive  in  their  nature. 
In  the  relations  of  brother  to  brother,  broth- 
erly relations  were  forgotten.  It  was  a 
struggle  in  which  self  was  for  self  alone. 
Human  kindness  waned  before  the  greed  of 
the  novitiates  of  gold.  Avarice  was  supreme. 
The  selfishness  of  the  man  destroyed  the 
power  of  the  citizen,  and  all  the  benefits  to  be 
derived  from  harmony  of  action  were  sacri- 
ficed by  the  disaffection  of  Lhe  constituents. 

Murder  stood  upon  the  high  places,  and 
the  throne  itself  was  impotent  to  avenge  it. 
New  instruments  of  destruction  had  sup- 
planted the  rude  weapons  of  the  fathers. 
Pillage  and  incendiarism  came  in  with  their 
share  of  destruction.  The  most  unoffending 
became  apprehensive. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  157 

Pride,  too,  entered  there.  The  charact- 
eristic rivalry  of  the  fallen  nation  evinced 
itself  more  than  ever  before  in  the  emulation 
of  dress  and  ornament,  and  many  a  lady  hung 
a  fortune  from  her  ears.  The  wealth,  the 
luxuriance  of  civilization  and  the  East,  as  I 
said,  poured  in,  nor  did  it  remain  unutilized. 
I  hold  it  an  eternal  law  that  extravagance  in 
person  necessitates  poverty  in  mind,  and  the 
law  made  no  exception  here. 

Many  abandoned  Utopia.     Some,   seek- 
ing greater  gain,  wished  to  venture  in  foreio-n 
countries  :  others,  humiliated  and  chagrined 
by  their    country's   fallen   state,  quitted  her 
desecrated  shores  forever  ;  while  others  still, 
trembling  for  their  lives  in  aland  where  the 
wild  infatuations  of  pride,  avarice,  and  ambi- 
tion,   joining    hands  with   the    children    of 
fanaticism   and    ingratitude,    so    transported 
every  husbandman  and  artizan  as  to  endanger 
the  most  innocent.      Steadily   the  stream  of 
emigration  poured  from   the    falling  island, 
and  counter-balancing  this  with  so  great  an 
influx  as  assembled  in  its  cities,   Utopia  had 
planted  the  anarchical  seeds  of  nations  long 


158  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

inured  to  vice,  in  the  bosom  of  a  people  un- 
familiar with  their  dire  effects. 
Chaos  reigned. 


^ 


Chapter  XVIII. 

^MONG  the  causes  of  the  fall  of 
Utopia,  one,  more  immediate- 
ly attributable  to  the  four 
afflicted  strangers,soon  began 
to  make  itself  felt  throughout 
the  island.  Their  advent 
had  procured  the  admission 
of  the  world  to  its  ports,  and  hence  had  been 
the  indirect  medium  of  introducing  the  anar- 
chy and  distraction  w]iich  was  now  doing  its 
awful  work,  but  the  growing,  menacing  taste 
fornarratives,  and  the  consequent  love  for 
works  of  imagination,  was  a  more  direct,  if  not 
a  more  powerful,  factor. 

The  ease  and  elegance  with  which  each 
one  of  these  strangers  had  recounted  his 
life  and  sorrows,  —  however  poorly  I  may 
have  been  able  to  repeat  them  —  produced  a 
profound  impression  on  the  minds  of  all 
whom  royal  favor  had  permitted  to  attend, 
and  soon  after  their  arrival,  these  four  be- 
came the  most  distinguished  of  Utopia  citi- 
159 


l6o  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

zens.  Again  and  again  they  were  called 
upon  to  repeat  the  sad  history  of  their  lives, 
until  there  was  not  a  child  unfamiliar  with 
the  details. 

True,  there  had  previously  been  occa- 
sional suggestions  of  something  like  connect- 
ed narratives,  but  dwelling  exclusively  among 
themselves,  and  by  the  taciturnity  of  Eras- 
tus,  unable  to  profit  by  the  experience  of  the 
only  man  who  had  visited  Utopia  from  the 
cultivated  portion  of  the  outside  world  in 
years,  there  had  never  been,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  the  dying  Dreamer's  confes- 
sions, so  coherent  a  story  as  those,  related 
in  the  island  ;  and  even  that  exception,  by 
reason  of  the  subsequent  revolutions  and 
disasters  could  not  produce  its  full  effect  on 
the  more  delicate  sensibilities  of  mind  and 
imagination.  Hence  this  amusement  was 
something  new,  and  again  the  taste  for  nov- 
elty displayed  its  wonted  inclination. 

Verbal  communication  of  the  strangers' 
narratives  became  too  slow.  They  were 
printed  in  book  form  and,  with  redoubled 
capacity,  continued  their  circulation,  becom- 
ing the  classics  of  Utopia. 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  l6l 

The  King  himself  gave  the  movement 
his  encouragement,  and,  being  so  pleased 
with  the  entertainment  afforded  him  during 
their  appeal  for  admission,  he  begged  of 
them  to  recall  wnatever  other  tales,  either 
true  or  ficticious,  with  which  they  might  be 
acquainted,  and  to  relate  them  to  him  during 
his  leisure  hours.  The  grateful  fugitives 
were  willing  enough  to  evince  their  apprecia- 
tion of  his  benefactions.  It  would  at  once  en- 
tertain their  kind  sovereign  and  distract  their 
brooding  thoughts  from  their  own  misfor- 
tunes. Nor  could  anything  have  been  more 
to  their  taste  and  qualifications.  The  prov- 
erbial predilection  of  an  Arab  for  this  pass- 
time  was  indeed  exemplified,  but  in  the 
Syrian,  the  cavelier,  and  even  the  Moorish 
damsel,  the  poet,  in  his  new  branch,  found 
worthy  competitors. 

In  a  short  time  the  royal  garden  became 
fairly  peopled,  in  spirit,  by  such  of  the  per- 
sonages of  Arabia  and  of  Spain  as  had  done 
aught  interesting  to  the  King.  His  favorites 
were  invited  to  attend,  and  every  story, 
transmitted  by  this  medium  to  the  less  for- 
tunate of  the    inhabitants,   was  known  in  n 


1 62  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

short  time  throughout  Utopia,  Beneath  the 
smile  of  imperial  favor  the  taste  grew  more 
confirmed,  and  soon  the  commencement  of 
a  new  history  or  tradition  was  anticipated  as 
an  event  of  national  rejoicing. 

When  interesting  facts  were  at  length 
exhausted,  and  beauty  of  language  could  no 
longer  supply  the  want  of  intrinsic  variety, 
the  gifted  four  began  to  ply  the  imagination. 
No  effort  was  made  to  deceive  the  King  as  to 
the  fictions,  and  so  ingeniously,  harmoniously 
and  delightfully  they  were  woven,  so  charm- 
ingly related  and  so  happily  concluded  that 
ere  long  he  confessed  his  decided  preference 
for  fiction  over  fact. 

How  god-like  are  the  children  of  the 
brain  !  Omnipresent  and  eternal,  they  laugh 
at  leagues  and  ages  !  They  scorn  the  might 
of  Strength  !  They  mock  at  exorcism ! 
They  penetrate  ;  pervade  !  They  encircle  ; 
they  enwrap  !  Who  can  forget  when  they 
have  spoken  to  remembrance  }  Who  can  recall 
what  they  have  made  the  heart  forget  ? 
Puissent  children  of  the  brain  ! 

Aping  their  sovereign's  entertainers, 
every  Utopian   was  soon  a  romancer  ;  —  the 


THE  FALL  OE  UTOPIA.  1 63 

lisping  learned  to  sing.  There  could  be  no 
higher  excellence ;  and  the  wildest  imagina- 
tion was  the  highest  order  of  intelligence. 
The  laborer  abandoned  his  languishing  fields 
and  the  tools  of  the  artizan  went  to  rust.  An 
influx  to  the  cities  began.  With  none  to 
sow,  there  was  nothing  to  reap.  Want  and 
privation,  unheeded,  threatened  the  kingdom. 
Idleness  became  legitimate  —  honorable. 

Each  of  the  constantly  repeated  concep- 
tions contributed  to  the  infatuation.  An 
impost  of  narratives  was  laid  on  all  who  came, 
and  a  liberal  response  was  the  surest  pass-port 
to  favor  and  renown.  Unpractical,  visionary- 
wretches,  with  inflated  ideas  and  delusive  fan- 
cies, now  constituted  the  inhabitants  of 
Utopia.     The  end  was  approaching. 

Such  fertile,  inflamed  imaginations  were 
without  a  possible  parallel.  A  youth,  who 
had  acquired  remarkable  dexterity  in  reading 
music  at  sight,  was  said  to  have  fallen  sense- 
less in  his  ecstasy  at  beholding  the  notes  of 
a  beautiful  composition.  Common  sense  had 
passed  away. 


"m 


Chapter  XIX. 

"|k  "TOW  let  me  go  back  a  little.  After  the 
I  ^1  assassination  of  the  Prince,  Althea's 
/  father,  the  faithful  Erastus  was  about  to 
consummate  his  happiness.  Notwithstanding 
his  unyielding  persecutions,  Althea  had  loved 
her  father  with  great  tenderness,  and  for  sev- 
eral months  subsequent  to  his  death,  so  deep- 
ly and  continually  did  she  mourn  for  him,  that 
her  own  life  was  frequently  doubtful.  The 
color  faded  from  her  cheek,  her  voice  assumed 
a  deathly  tone.  Tearless  in  her  lethargy 
and  unmurmuring  in  her  grief,  she  seemed  to 
have  lost  all  interest  in  human  affairs. 

But  the  deepest  agony  will  abate,  and 
her  voice  soon  began  to  resume  somethmgof 
its  wonted  cheerfulness  ;  the  roses  and  the 
light  returned  to  her  cheeks  and  eye.  Eras- 
tus hailed  them  with  delight ;  a  keener  love 
than    ever  prevailed  in  his    constant   heart. 

No  time  was  lost  ;  preparations  for  their 
union  at  once  began.  Both  had  been  among 
the  recent  converts  to  Christianity,  and  the 
164 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  165 

celebration  of  their  wedding  was  to  be  in 
accordance  with  the  holy  rites  of  this  religion. 
The  small  but  exquisite  chapel  which  had 
been  piously  erected  by  missionaries,  on  the 
site  of  an  overthrown  Utopian  temple,  was 
gaily  decorated  for  this  unique  occasion. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  day  set 
apart  for  their  union,  friends  began  to  gather. 
Good  wishes  were  abundant  and  anticipations 
high.  As  the  hour  drew  nigh,  the  happy 
couple  proceeded  to  the  little  chapel,  and 
closely  watched  by  the  many  who  accompanied 
them,  paused  before  the  altar,  where  a  few 
brief  words  by  the  priest  made  them  man  and 
wife.  When  they  had  received  the  holy 
benediction  they  turned  and  moved  slowly 
out,  followed  by  their  smiling  friends  who 
crowded  around  them,  as  happy  as  the  newly 
married  couple  themselves. 

But  there  was  an  incident.  It  was  not 
bold  or  disturbing  ;  indeed,  it  was  scarcely 
perceived  by  any ;  and  yet  it  was  one  which 
meant  much  to  those  who  saw  and  compre- 
hended. In  the  midst  of  the  gay  and  happy 
concourse,  the  only  ripple  upon  its  serenity, 
stood  the  perjurer,    Phrystia !     Resentment 


l66  THE   FALL    OF    UTOPIA. 

burned  in  every  feature,  and  her  wicked  eyes 
beamed  with  a  fierce  fire  of  hate.  Close  to 
her,  but  displaying  little  emotion,  stood  the 
subservient  Othiastes.  As  the  bride  and 
groom  passed  out  into  the  open  air,  the  an- 
gered, conscienceless  woman  uttered  a  ter. 
rible  imprecation  on  the  noble  Erastus,  who 
had  formally  defeated  her  jealous  resentment 
and  humbled  her  pride,  and  upon  the  innocent 
girl  at  his  side  who,  by  merely  associating 
with  him,  had  incurred  her  resentment.  She 
entertained  dark  designs  as  to  the  immediate 
sequence  of  this  happy  event,  and  those  who 
read  her  countenance,  trembled. 


Chapter  XX. 

.MONG  the  effects  which  the 
great  predispondents  of  cor- 
ruption had  produced,  was  the 
whisperings  of  treason  and  a 
new  revolution.  Many,  not 
too  far  inebriated,  began  to  awake 
from  their  lethargy  and  attend  to  the 
muttering  of  the  approaching  storm.  Ap- 
prehension became  darker,  and  numbers  of 
the  more  conservative  citizens,  mindful  of 
the  former  disasters,  experienced  genuine 
alarm. 

Phrystia  smiled.  The  design  which  her 
cursedly  ingenious  brain  had  conceived  was 
succeeding  marvelously  well.  So  soon  as 
she  dared,  supported  by  Othiastes,  she 
appeared  before  the  throne  and,  with  a  fiend- 
ish touch  of  satisfaction  and  revenge  in  her 
look  and  tone,  charged  the  unsuspecting 
Erastus  with  high  treason.  Othiastes  she 
called  to  witness,  and  he  gave  a  ready  con- 
firmation. 

167 


l68  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

Had  the  King  been  himself,  a  feeling 
recollection  of  her  former  crime  and  impeach- 
ment would  have  caused  him  not  only  to  dis- 
credit but  resent  her  false  charge.  But  just 
at  this  period  the  Spanish  cavalier  was  relating 
to  his  Majesty  the  interesting  story  of  Don 
Roderick,  whose  unholy  passion  for  the  lovely 
Florinda  led  the  resentful  father,  Count  Julian, 
to  deliver  Spain  into  the  hands  of  the  Moors. 
The  details  of  the  narrative  were  much  drawn 
out  and  perhaps  highly  colored,  rendering  it  no 
less  lengthy  than  entertaining.  In  his  infatu- 
ation, the  sovereign  of  Utopia,  not  wishing 
to  be  disturbed,  had  temporarily  turned 
over  to  his  grand  vizier,  in  whom  he  reposed 
great  confidence,  all  the  affairs  of  state.  It 
was  then  that  Phrystia  appeared  with  her 
charge. 

Now,  the  grand  vizier,  immediately  after 
the  enactment  prohibiting  the  immigration 
of  strangers,  provoked,  perhaps,  by  the  man's 
persistent  silence,  had  wished  to  strain  the 
law  and  expel  Erastus,  as  a  stranger,  from 
the  island,  although  his  coming  had  been 
anterior  to  the  prohibitory  edict.  This  the 
King   opposed,    and,    as   is   often   the  case, 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  1 69 

instead  of  hazarding  his  favor  with  the  great, 
the  real  opponent  of  his  designs,  he  chose  to 
derive  some  satisfaction  from  hating  the  man 
whom  he  had  tried  in  vain  to  injure,  and 
when  Phrystia,  with  Othiastes,  appeared,  he 
hailed  his  opportunity,  and,  with  but  little 
ceremony  or  show  of  justice,  condemned 
Erastus,  the  happy  bride-groom,  to  execution. 

There  was  little  delay  in  the  matter.  In 
a  short  time,  while  the  King  was  yet 
engrossed  in  the  story  of  Florinda  and  her 
wrongs,  and  her  father's  terrible  retaliation, 
Erastus  was  led  to  his  fate. 

In  an  open  square  of  the  capital  a  scaf- 
fold had  been  erected,  and  the  headsman 
stood  ready  with  his  axe.  The  young  man's 
heartless  accusers  and  their  equally  heartless 
abettors  could  not  be  so  unfeeling,  however, 
as  to  demand  his  death  without  permitting 
him  a  few  farewell  remarks.  He  was  told  to 
speak,  if  he  desired. 

When  battling,  in  other  times,  for  the 
cause  of  Utopia,  his  nerves  had  never  trem- 
bled at  the  fiercest  foe  ;  rather,  with  the  zeal 
of  the  penitent  who  would  expiate  former 
faults,  the  surfeited  and  reclaimed  libertine 


I70  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

seemed  to  revel  in  the  conflict  ;  but  concern 
for  that  other  self,  whom  he  had  recently 
taken,  could  not  be  so  ignored,  and  for  a 
moment  he  seemed  to  shudder  at  his  approach- 
ing doom.  Finally  summoning  all  his  cour- 
age and  self-possession,  he  began  to  disclose 
the  well-kept  mystery  of  his  life. 

Slowly  and  deliberately  he  proceeded  to 
relate  how,  the  son  of  affluent  parents,  he 
once  possessed  all  that  heart  could  desire ; 
but,  led  off  into  dissolution,  he  had  quitted 
the  parental  home,  on  the  death  of  his  father, 
and  after  weary  wanderings  among  scenes  of 
ephemeral  delights,  returned,  only  to  be 
repulsed  from  his  own  chateau,  by  the  ingrati- 
tude of  his  only  brother.  He  told  of  his 
subsequent  wanderings  and  his  arrival  in 
Utopia  ;  of  his  tender  love  for  Althea ;  his 
sorrow  at  the  enforced  separation  ;  and  finally 
his  supreme  joy  in  the  recent  blissful  union. 

Up  to  this,  he  had  said  nothing  of  the 
former  treachery  of  his  accusers.  A  wonder- 
ful change  had  come  over  the  faces  before 
him.  In  the  height  of  their  love  for  the 
exciting,  the  people  were  deeply  moved  by 
the  eloquence  and  enthusiasm  with  which  his 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I7I 

striking  story  was  related.  All  seemed 
entranced  in  their  stillness.  The  headsman 
had  dropped  his  axe,  and  the  guards  no 
longer  guarded.  He  paused.  No  one  moved. 
Deep  thought  seemed  to  hold  them  all  spell- 
bound. For  a  moment  he  gazed  upon  them, 
and  then  walked  boldly  away  undisturbed. 
No  future  effort  was  made  to  execute 
the  judgment.  He  remained  among  them 
unmolested.  Although  attended  by  no  dem- 
onstrations, popular  feeling  was  revived 
against  the  two  false  witnesses,  and  a  few 
days    brought  retribution  upon  their  heads. 


#* 


Chapter  XXI. 

I  HE  discovery  that  Erastus  was 
a  brother  of  the  unfortunate 
Dreamer  had  become  the  all-ab- 
sorbing topic  in  Amaurot.  In 
this  general  wonder  no  one  had 
participated  more  than  the  surviving  brother 
himself.  Surprise  soon  gave  place  to  a  fiercer 
feeling,  however,  when  he  realized  that  it  was 
for  his  own  relation  that  the  injured  Star- 
light's love  had  burned.  Forgetting  all  the 
early  ingratitude  of  the  dead,  he  only  remem- 
bered that  the  first  of  Phrystia's  many  wrongs 
had  been  to  one  whom  his  brother  had  loved, 
and  by  whom  he  was  loved  in  return.  He 
could  tolerate  no  more,  and  resolved  upon 
her  punishment. 

After  the  enrapturing  story  of  Florinda 
was  concluded,  the  King  had  resumed  the 
regular  routine  of  his  official  duties,  and  learn- 
ing of  the  recent  proceedings  against  Erastus, 
and,  with  great  indignation  because  of  the 
of  the  chief  vizier's  sanction  of  the  crimes  of 
172 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  1 73 

the  hated  Phrystia,  this  worthy  was  dismissed 
in  disgrace,  and  the  prosecution  of  a  charge 
against  the  two  schemers  for  false  accusation 
suited  well  with  his  temper. 

With  more  justice,  his  disposition  of  the 
case  was  as  summary  as  that  before  the  vizier, 
and  scarcely  had  the  news  of  their  condem- 
nation gone  abroad  when  the  heartless  pair, 
the  authors  of  half  Utopia's  misfortunes, 
were  led  to  execution  upon  the  same  scaffold 
which  had  been  erected  for  their  accusers. 

Starlight's  tender  heart,  in  spite  of  the 
wrongful  suffering  she  had  endured,  sank 
within  her  at  the  thought  of  their  coming 
fate.  Noble,  generous  woman  !  what  unself- 
ish feelings  ever  moved  her  gentle  soul  ! 
She  could  not  remain  passive,  and,  before  the 
hour  of  execution  had  arrived  she  arose  and 
with  trembling  voice,  began  to  plead  for  the 
life  of  her  enemies.  It  was  a  touching  appeal, 
but  the  King  remained  firm  in  his  judgment. 

Stolid  and  emotionless  as  through  life, 
the  treacherous  pair  stood  in  the  presence  of 
approaching  death,  before  the  reviling  multi- 
tude. There  was  not  the  twitch  of  a  muscle. 
To  the  proffered  privilege  of  a  few  farewell 


174  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

remarks  their  sole  reply  was  silence.  The 
nearest  approach  to  feeling  which  either  face 
betrayed  was  the  look  of  loathing  and  con- 
tempt which  Othiastes  cast  upon  his  corrupt 
companion,  but  this  scarcely  would  have  been 
perceived,  perhaps,  had  it  not  been  unmis- 
takably confirmed. 

Phrystia's  head  was  upon  the  block. 
The  executioner  slowly  raised  his  glittering 
axe  in  air.  The  surrounding  thousands  held 
their  breath.  For  a  moment  there  was  a 
pause  ;  then,  with  a  sudden  grasp,  Othiastes 
snatched  the  blade  from  the  officer's  hands, 
and  before  his  intention  could  be  realized  or 
its  execution  prevented,  the  graceless  wretch 
had  himself  severed  the  head  of  his  wicked 
associate  from  her  body.  He  made  no 
attempt  to  resist  his  fate,  and  in  a  moment 
more  his  own  bloody  head  rolled  beside  her's 
in  the  dust. 

Fallen  Utopia  was  avenged  ! 


V^ 


Chapter  XXII. 

HFEW  years  of  comparative  tran- 
quillity had  passed  away,  and  by  the 
side  of  the  royal  Disputant  sat  Star- 
light as  Queen  of  Utopia.  Kindness  upon 
the  one  hand  and  gratitude  upon  the 
other  had  gradually  merged  into  love,  and 
finally  the  generous  sovereign,  fully  re- 
claimed from  his  recent  weaknesses,  re- 
ceived, as  the  reward  of  his  protection,  the 
hand  of  the  innocent  he  had  protected. 

Whatever  passions  may  have  been 
beneath  the  surface,  peace  seemed  to  possess 
the  breasts  of  the  Utopians. 

But  in  Utopia  there  was  one  unquiet 
heart.  In  an  upper  room,  facing  one  of  the 
loveliest  streets  of  Amaurot,  furnished  and 
adorned  with  all  the  beauty  and  magnificence 
which  love  could  prompt  and  wealth  bestow, 
lay  Althea,  slowly  dying  !  Although  her 
spirits  seemed  to  have  a^ain  revived,  she  had 
never  truly  recovered  from  the  shock  occa- 
sioned by  her  father's  death.  The  color  had 
^7S 


176  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPrA. 

for  awhile  returned  to  her  cheeks,  but,  deeper 
down,  disease  had  ever  been  at  work. 

After  a  few  years,  she  again  began  to 
decline,  and  now  Death  gazed  from  her  beau- 
tiful eyes.  Erastus,  overcome  with  grief,  sat 
alone  at  her  bedside,  with  his  bowed  head 
resting  in  his  hand.  He  had  watched  long 
and  anxiously  beside  her,  and  though  the 
body  was  very  tired,  the  spirit  refused  it 
rest.  At  intervals  he  would  rouse  from  the 
stupor  into  which  nature,  in  spite  of  him, 
was  about  to  lapse,  and,  bending  over  her, 
would  take  her  thin  hand  nervously  in  his 
own  and  gaze  appealingly  into  her  unexpres- 
sive  eyes.  There  was  no  return  to  his  beseech- 
ing look.  Day  by  day  he  sat  there.  Her 
recovery  was  hopeless,  and  he  preferred  to 
have  no  intrusion  upon  his  sorrow;  he  would 
sit  there  alone.  Morning  would  come  with 
its  sunlight  and  freshness,  and  breathe  in  at 
the  large  open  window.  The  song  of  the 
birds,  as  they  awoke  in  the  tall  trees  that 
shaded  the  street  below,  would  come  floating 
in  —  a  mockery,  yet  a  sweet  mockery,  of 
the  silence  in  the  chamber  of  approaching 
death,  —  still,  scarcely  stirring,  Erastus  sat 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 


177 


and  watched.  The  sun  would  mount  to 
noon-day,  and,  panting  with  the  increasing 
heat,  the  h'ttle  birds  would  cease  singing  and 
fly  away  to  some  cooler  retreat ;  still  the  griev- 
ing husband  kept  his  seat.  The  quiet,  sleepy 
afternoon  would  steal  slowly  on  ;  the  gold  and 
crimson  of  sunset  could  be  seen  from  the 
western  window,  and  the  night  would  again 
come  down.  Amidst  it  all  Erastus  remained 
pensive  and  motionless.  An  awful  agony 
was  at  his  heart. 

One  evening,  as  he  watched  the  sleep- 
ing patient,  a  sudden  tremor  came  over  her 
frame.  He  started  and  looked  wildly  into 
her  face,  then  turned  away.  Althea  was  no 
more  ! 


W"^ 


Chapter  XXIII. 

'1^"T"OT  long  after  the  death  of  Althea, 
I  ^y  Erastus,  whose  overwhelming  grief 
/  and  melancholy  state  was  perceptible 

to  his  many  friends,  received  a  summons  to 
appear  before  the  royal  Sovereign  ;  who,  in 
recognition  of  his  sterling  qualities  and  in 
sympathy  for  his  great  loss,  bestowed  upon 
him  the  chief  office  of  the  Court ;  that  of 
vizier  to  the  King. 

Erastus  bowed  in  humble  gratitude,  but 
scarcely  had  the  rumor  of  his  appointment 
been  spread  abroad,  when  threatening  dem- 
onstrations were  noticeable  on  every  hand. 
Salpurnus,  the  deposed  vizier,  had  been 
secretly  at  work  among  his  followers,  and  the 
dark  resentment  of  his  heart  was  about  to  be 
gratified.  Throughout  the  island,  and  espec- 
ially in  the  neighborhood  of  the  capital, 
many  had  quietly  attached  themselves  to  the 
enterprise  of  revolution,  and,  —  poor,  blind 
sons  of  passion  !  —  had  pledged  their  lives 
and  services  in  the  cause  of  his  retaliation. 
178 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  I  79 

Salpurnus  did  not  regard  his  prepara- 
tions as  fully  developed,  but,  angered  at 
the  elevation  of  his  enemy,  and  fearing  the 
measures  v^rhich  the  newly  appointed  vizier 
might  prevail  upon  the  King  to  put  into  exe- 
cution against  himself,  he  began  to  precipi- 
tate the  attack. 

One  midnight,  w^hile  discoursing  with 
his  worshipped  Starlight,  there  was  a  demand 
for  admittance  at  the  outer  gate.  Being 
refused,  it  was  forced,  the  guard  cut  down, 
and  in  another  moment  half  a  thousand  men, 
wild  with  passion,  were  battering  at  the  mas- 
sive portal  of  the  palace. 

Erastus,  awakened  by  the  rabble  outside, 
at  once  discerned  the  true  cause.  Without 
ceremony  he  hastened  to  the  royal  chamber, 
and  prevailed  upon  the  Sovereign  and  his  con- 
sort to  fly.  A  moment  more  and  it  would 
have  been  too  late,  for,  as  the  three  disap- 
peared down  a  secret  stairway  which  led  to 
the  garden,  the  angry  mob  gained  entry,  and 
swarming  like  bees  through  the  palace  halls, 
cried  for  the  dastardly  Disputant. 

Foiled  in  their  murderous  designs,  the 
inebriated  revolutionists  began  to  apply  the 


l8o  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

torch,  and  soon  all  the  costly  hangings  and 
magnificent  tapestries  were  a  mass  of  flames. 
Wider  and  wider  spread  the  roaring  blaze, 
until,  with  astonishing  rapidity,  they  envel- 
oped the  entire  structure.  The  lurid  glare 
lit  up  the  sleeping  island  for  miles  around, 
and  threw  such  of  the  inhabitants  who  had 
not  been  made  acquainted  with  the  deposed 
vizier's  plan,  into  the  wildest  excitement. 

In  their  terrified  state  they  fell  an  easy 
prey  to  the  surging  revolutionists,  who  rapidly 
increased  in  numbers,  and,  after  occupying 
the  strongholds  of  the  city,  began  sweep- 
ing across  the  island.  Halting  only  long 
enough  to  organize  their  augmented  forces  and 
to  form  further  plans  of  action,  they  marched 
irresistably  onward,  occupying  village  after 
village  in  rapid  succession,  forcing  the  hus- 
bandmen to  surrender  and  join  their  ranks. 

This  latter,  however,  was  not  accom- 
plished without  many  sharp  and  spirited  con- 
flicts, and  the  fierceness  of  the  brief  attacks 
was  shown  by  the  destruction  left  behind. 
It  was  not  the  plan  of  Salpurnus  to  secure 
his  own  elevation  to  the  throne.  The  downfall 
of  his  enemies  was  the  acme  of  his  fiendish 


THE  FALl>  OF  UTOPIA.  igi 

motive,  and  he  cared  but  little  whether  the 
land,  over  which  he  had  no  desire  to  rule, 
was  devastated  or  not.  The  brand  and  the 
axe  were  never  spared,  and  in  their  wake  was 
naught  but  desolation.  In  four  short  days 
every  village  was  occupied  by  the  rebellious 
troops,  and  the  fields  on  every  side  were  laid 
waste  and  barren. 

A  diligent  search  had  failed  to  discover 
the  King  and  his  companions,  consequently 
their  fate  was  unknown  to  their  enemies. 
What  the  ultimate  intentions  of  Salpurnus 
were  concerning  them  and  the  future  govern- 
ment of  the  island,  can  never  be  ascertained, 
for  just  at  this  time  occurred  the  event 
which  swept  Utopia  from  the  earth. 


^ 


Chapter  XXIV. 


FTER  the  former  insurrec- 
tion, which  brought  about 
the  fall  of  the  more  sim- 
ple Utopian  government 
and  placed  a  King  upon 
the  throne,  there  had  ex- 
isted great  rivalry  in  arch- 
itecture amounting  to  ex- 
travagance. Under  the 
torch  of  the  revengeful  Salpurnus,  these  mag- 
nificent structures  and  the  limited  forests 
were  destroyed,  which  left  the  whole  island 
exposed  to  the  full  sweep  of  the  elements, 
and  with  nothing  to  break  their  fury  the 
winds  could  rage  over  the  treeless  tracts 
with  terrific  effect. 

For  several  weeks  preceding,  and  during 
the  revolution,  the  heavens,  at  intervals,  had 
worn  a  menacing  aspect,  signifying  a  terrible 
visitation  of  the  elemental  powers,  but  just 
as  the  culmination  seemed  about  to  arrive, 
the  angry  clouds  would  each  time  pass  away 
182 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  183 

and  the  sky  reassunie  its  serenity.  For  sev- 
eral days,  howe/er,  the  atmosphere  became 
more  oppressive  and  the  heavens  gradually 
assumed  a  threatening  appearance.  There 
was  a  peculiar  tinge  in  the  coloring  of  the 
clouds  never  witnessed  before  and  those  of 
the  Utopians  who  were  not  thoroughly  dis- 
tracted by  the  horrors  of  civil  strife  and  de- 
struction, looked  with  awe  upon  the  gather- 
ing shades,  feeling  that  they  were  forebod- 
ings of  disaster. 

Finally  an  unbroken  sheet  of  hurrying 
clouds  hid  the  face  of  heaven,  but  not  a 
breath  of  air  was  astir.  Far  out  on  the  hori- 
zon the  sharp  lightnings  began  to  play 
although  at  too  great  a  distance  for  their 
report  to  be  heard.  Silent,  ominous  and  still ! 
Hostilities  had  ceased  and  every  heart  had 
grown  sick  with  terror.  So  deep  was  the 
gloom  that  night  seemed  scarcely  darker 
than  the  day.  The  lightnings  grew  more 
vivid,  and  the  dull,  distant  roar  of  thun- 
der now  broke  upon  the  earth.  The  black 
funeral  shroud  of  heaven  sank  lower  towards 
the  threatened  earth,  as  though,  at  the 
moment  of  its  destruction,  to  envelop  it  for 


184  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

eternity.  Every  inhabitant  had  forsaken  his 
home,  and  in  groups  about  the  city  all  could 
be  seen  engaged  in  prayer.  Wilder  and 
wilder  still  grew  the  scene.  The  distant 
mutterings  of  thunder  waxed  into  a  booming 
fury,  and  the  incessant  lightnings,  piercing, 
crackling,  burning,  played  at  hide  seek  over 
such  domes  and  towers  as  had  escaped  the 
torch  of  the  revolutionists. 

Suddenly  there  came  a  thunderous  burst 
of  tremendous  force  which  seemed  to  loosen 
the  foundations  of  the  universe.  Utopia 
trembled.  Beneath  the  flood  and  fury  of 
rain  and  wind,  the  structures,  burning  from 
the  Hghtning's  flame,  came  crashing  to  the 
earth.  The  air  was  filled  with  flying  timbers, 
and  the  maddened  sea  was  fast  battling  its 
way  inward  several  miles. 

Hour  after  hour  this  awful  wrath  con- 
tinued. Not  a  building  remained.  The 
morning  came  and  brought  but  little  abate- 
ment, and  then  another  night  closed  in  with 
a  sky  still  dark  and  wild. 

It  was  not  until  the  following  sunrise 
that  the  hurricane  died  away,  and  the  winds 
had  become  gentle  whispers,  singing  over  the 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  185 

wreck  of  their  wrath,  though  the  waves  of  the 
sea  were  still  fretful.  The  clouds  gradually 
cleared  away,  and  the  noon-day  sun  looked 
down   upon  an  awful    picture  of  desolation. 

To  that  good  angel,  Starlight,  I  owe  my 
own  salvation,  as  docs  your  gentle  Saffana. 
Starlight  alone,  during  all  the  excitement, 
maintained  her  calmness  and  presence  of 
mind.  When,  at  the  approaching  climax,  all 
had  been  given  up  in  despair,  **  Hasten,"  she 
said,  "  to  my  father's  cave.  There  you  will 
be  safe."  Thither  I  fled,  leading  Saffana  by 
the  hand.  But  Starlight  turned  in  another 
direction  and  soon  was  lost  from  sight.  The 
Disputant  called  wildly  after  her,  but  she 
made  no  reply.  He  hurried  after  her,  and 
was  himself  soon  lost  from  our  sight. 

I  could  not  pause  then  to  look  after 
them,  so  with  a  silent  ''  Farewell  forever!  " 
we  hastened  on  to  the  astronomer's  abandoned 
cave. 

In  a  short  while  came  the  crash,  and 
all  who  were  unprotected  must  have  perished 
at  that  instant.  "When  the  hurricane  finally 
abated,  bidding  Saffana  remain,  I  ventured 
from    the    cave.     What  a  scene    of    death 


1 86  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

and  destruction  met  my  eyes  !  Scarcely  a 
column  of  the  former  structures  could  be 
seen,  and  dead  bodies  lay  scattered  far  and 
wide.      I  cannot  endure  to  describe  it   now. 

Stumbling  over  the  ruins,  I  finally  came 
to  a  low  stone  sepulchre  which  stood  entire. 
It  was  the  tomb  of  the  Dreamer.  Imagine 
my  surprise  as,  at  its  base,  I  saw  two  living 
creatures,  and  upon  investigating,  discovered 
them  to  be  none  other  than  Starlight  and  the 
Disputant  !  Neither  had  received  the  slight- 
est hurt. 

Arriving  at  this  desecrated  spot,  Star- 
light had  fallen  upon  her  knees,  and,  with  no 
intention  of  disloyalty  to  the  living,  uttered 
a  prayer  —  her  last,  she  thought  —  beside  the 
tomb  of  the  departed.  It  was  here  that  the 
anxious  Disputant  came  upon  her,  and  fell 
down  beside  her  just  as  the  hurricane  burst 
in  its  fury. 

High  enough  to  protect,  but  too  low  to 
be  razed,  the  tomb  —  strange  paradox  !  — 
had  saved  both  their  lives. 

The  fate  of  the  three  remaining  stran- 
gers, of  whom  you  have  heard,  remains  a 
mystery.      That   of  the   unfortunate    Arab, 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  1 87 

doomed  to  perpetual  life,  was  of  especial 
interest,  but  no  one  ever  knew  his  end.  In 
the  midst  of  the  elemental  fury,  when 
destruction  was  at  its  height,  transported 
with  hope  at  the  prospect  of  what  seemed 
certain  death,  and  j  ossibly  the  end  of  time, 
so  supernatural  was  the  wildness  of  the  tem- 
pest, he  was  heard,  at  intervals  above  the 
roar,  thankfully  exclaiming  : 

"  The  spell  of  the  girdle  has  at  last  been 
broken.     Allah  acbah  !  Allah  acbah  !  " 

But  his  voice  finally  died  away,  and  no 
token  of  him  could  ever  be  found. 

The  sorrowing  Syrian  and  the  luckless 
cavalier,  after  experiencing  such  misfortunes 
as  marked  their  pitiable  career,  let  us  hope, 
were  taken  to  the  God  of  the  afflicted  and 
found  peace  in  the  silence  of  their  unknown 
graves. 

When  restored  to  our  senses  the  first 
thought  was  how  to  escape  from  this  deso- 
late spot  ?  Kind  nature,  as  though  repentant 
of  its  anger,  was  not  long  in  affording  this 
relief  to  Starlight  and  to  the  Disputant,  for  a 
small  vessel,  having,  by  some  mysterious 
means,  been  spared  destruction,  was  sighted 


1 88  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

not  far  from  the  island.  The  sea  still  ran 
high,  but  preferring  the  risk  of  its  wrath  to 
the  probabilities  of  starvation,  a  search  was 
made  for  means  to  reach  the  ship. 

A  small  row-boat  was  found,  and  though 
somewhat  damaged,  it  was  fitted  up  hastily 
and  we  all  embarked.  The  struggle  with 
the  angry  waves  was  terrific,  and  just  as  we 
neared  the  vessel,  one  billow  mightier  than  the 
rest,  swept  Saffana  and  myself  into  the  sea. 
It  would  have  been  certain  death  for  Starlight 
and  the  Disputant  to  have  attempted  our  res- 
cue, and  they  labored  on  to  the  ship,  no 
doubt  believing  us  to  have  perished. 

But  the  waves  were  kind  in  their  unkind- 
ness  and  cast  us  back,  much  exhausted,  upon 
the  shore.  Having  nothing  with  which  to 
signal  across  the  wild  sea,  we  were  forced  to 
look  wistfully  on,  as,  the  next  morning,  the 
vessel,  somewhat  repaired,  sailed  away. 

And  so,  among  these  scattered  ruins, 
with  only  the  scantiest  sustenance,  but  with 
brave  and  trusting  hearts,  we  have  ever  since 
remained.     Such  was  the  Fall  of  Utopia! 

******* 

The  aged  man  had  at  length  concluded 


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  1 89 

his  story.  How  my  heart  would  thrill  at  the 
mention  of  the  name  of  my  worshipped  Saf- 
fana  !  how  sicken  when  he  spoke  of  her  dan- 
gers and  escapes  !  And,  when  he  had  con- 
cluded, I  uttered  a  fervent  prayer  to  Allah 
for  her  preservation. 

I  had  now  spent  several  days  on  the  is- 
land. It  was  a  melancholy  spot.  The  scenes 
that,  from  a  peaceful  simplicity,  had  risen 
to  a  state  of  richness  and  magnificence 
which  astonished  the  world,  were  now  laid 
waste  in  ruin  and  desolation.  The  wild 
winds  howled  through  the  crushed,  desolated 
structures,  and  the  screach  of  the  sea  birds, 
above  the  devastated  gardens,  seemed  a 
mockery.  How  awful  is  the  silence  of  ruined 
splendor  !     And  it  was  there. 

The  human  ghouls  were  not  tardy  in 
their  coming,  and  to  them  we  owe  our  deliv- 
erance. The  destruction  of  Utopia  soon 
became  known,  and,  attracted  by  the  immense 
spoil  which  they  knew  must  be  buried  beneath 
the  ruins,  the  white-winged  ships  were  soon 
coming  from  every  horizon. 

In  one  of  these  vessels,  returning  to  the 
port  of  Malaga,  Saffana,  the  aged  Utopian 


190  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA. 

and  myself  embarked,  and  in  due  time,  arrived, 
sound  and  well.  Hastening  across  the  snowy 
Sierras,  we  soon  found  ourselves  in  my  peace- 
ful home  beside  the  Darro,  where,  happy  and 
contented,  we  have  ever  since  remained,  in 
humble  gratitude  to  Allah,  the  God  of  protec- 
tion, and  to  the  Hall  of  Celestial  Dreams. 


SliMfft 


THE   END. 


wm 


